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Chief Constable of Margate, York and Bradford Police, and the first Chairman of the Yorkshire Traffic Commissioners who was awarded the King’s Police Medal and was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire. |
Joseph Farndale CBE KPM
FAR00463
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Overview
Joseph Farndale CBE KPM was born in Wakefield and
educated at Field House Academy, Aberford.
He joined the police at the age of 20. He became Chief Constable of Margate Borough Police. In 1897, he became the
Chief Constable of York. In 1900 he became the Chief Constable of Bradford,
in which post he served for thirty years. He was the first Chairman of the
Yorkshire Traffic Commissioners under the Road Traffic Act 1930.
He was awarded the King's Police Medal (“KPM”) in 1914
and appointed Officer of the Order of the British
Empire (“OBE”) in the 1920 civilian war honours
and Commander of the Order of the British
Empire (“CBE”) in the 1924 Birthday Honours.
Joseph and Emma
Farndale at their Silver Wedding in 1908
oseph Farndale at his award of OBE in
1920
Portrait of Joseph Farndale CBE KPM
Joseph Farndale’s Coat of
Arms, as Chief Constable of Bradford.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
5 June 1907:
Arms: A field of azure, a court
and a conviction. Beneath the working tools of a master policeman - bullseye,
bracelets, and truncheon all ending in Black Mariah. The fingerprints tell
their own tale.
Supporters: Dexter, a mounted
policeman, sinister, ditto.
Crest: The gaolers keys.
Motto. Vigilantibus,
‘To the watchful’.
‘The Chief’ is known of all men,
especially of those who pursue a devious career to the Town Hall and meet the
Stipendiary face to face. Mr Farndale qualified for his position by going
through the mill. It has been said “the policeman's life is not a happy
one”, but that is when the enterprising burglar goes a burgling, and meets a
solitary constable. There are compensations. Mr Farndale has risen in the
profession and from constabulary duty done at Halifax he has become the
commander of over 400 men, including those imposing figures who parade on our
streets on prancing steeds. The Chief reached Bradford by way of Margate and
York, where he held similar positions, but with a smaller number of men.
Whether Bradford is the apex of his ambitions remains to be seen. Mr Farndale
attained his present position by hard work and a resolute endeavour to qualify
for the duties and responsibilities pertaining to the head of a large police
force. He had for a model his uncle, Mr Joseph Farndale, a distinguished
chief constable of Birmingham. The younger man tried to emulate the elder,
and became a Chief Robert too. The Bradford chief was not always a policeman - he
began as an apothecary, and tried to make pills and potions for pink people.
But his heart was not in illness. His passion was to administer pills to the
criminal classes. He has certainly doctored them to some purpose these last
seven years in Bradford. Our artist depicts him in the uniform worn on state
occasions, when he is apt to be mistaken for a Field Marshall or a General
at least. Since he came to Bradford the Chief has smartened up the force,
and it is now one of the most efficient in the Kingdom.
()
Leeds Imnvestiture.
Mr Joseph Farndale, Chief Constabl;e of Bradford, who
received the OBE yesterday (Leeds Mercury, 13 April 1921)
Mrs J Farndale, wife of the Chief Constable of Bradford (Leeds Mercury, 30 May 1923)
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Samantha
Malkin who put me right on a number of points regarding Joseph Farndale and his
uncle Joseph (FAR00350B)
who was also Chief Constable (of Chesterfield, Leicester and Birmingham).
1865
Joseph Farndale was born at The Smith’s Arms Wakefield on 6 April 1965, the son of Thomas Farndale, Inn keeper, Smith’s Arms, Thomas Lane, Wakefield, and Sarah Farndale formerly Bell, (FAR00344). He was baptised on 4 June 1865. The birth was registered in Wakefield District on 30 April 1864 by Sarah Farndale, his mother, of The Smith’s Arms, Thomas Lane, Wakefield. (BC, BR and PR, GRO Vol 9c page 29)
Early life
Joseph Farndale was educated at Field House Academy in Aberford.
1871
The 1871 Census, showed the family living
at 1 Thomas Lane (The Smith Arms), Wakefield: Thomas Farndale, head, inn
keeper, 34; Sarah Farndale, wife, 37; Thomas W Farndale, scholar, 8; Joseph
Farndale, scholar, 6; Margaret Farndale, 3; Henry Farndale, 7 months; Ann Sunnergerson, a servant, from Canada; and Ann Eliza Lesle.
1876
The Wakefield Free Press, 23
December 1876 reported:
MR REYNER’S SCHOOOL. The usual half yearly examination was held on the 14th,
15th and 18th inst. For want of time the viva voce
examination was omitted. The following is the porize
list. … Second Engliihs Course, A Vollands,
W Shaw, H Gillot, J Farndale … ARITHMETIC. Seconbd
Class … J Farndale … ALGEBRA … Second Class … J Farndale
1881
The 1881 Census, for 66 Thomas Lane,
Wakefield listed Thomas Farndale, head, inn keeper, 41; Sarah Farndale, wife,
47; Thomas W Farndale, scholar, 18; Joseph Farndale, scholar, 16; Samuel?, 14;
Margaret Farndale, 13
1883
Joseph Farndale, son of
Thomas and Sarah Farndale (FAR00344)
married Emma Selby in 1883 (MR).
She died in 1936.
Joseph and Emma had a family of three:
· Florence Farndale, born Halifax June 1884 (FAR00600)
· Eveline Farndale, born Halifax Dec 1885 (FAR00602).
·
Emma Farndale, born Halifax Jun 1893 (FAR00657).
(BR)
The Halifax Police, 1884 to
1893
Joseph joined the police at the age of twenty in 1884. He was the nephew of his
uncle Joseph (FAR00350B)
who was also a Chief Constable (of Leicester, Chesterfield and Birmingham
police).
1886
Joseph extinguished a house fire in October 1889. The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
22 October 1886:
FIRE IN A COTTAGE. About four o’clock on Thursday afternoon information was
taken to the police office that a fire had broken out at the house occupied by
Squire Ackroyd, carter, Governor Street, off Waterhouse Street. PC Farndale
went to the place and found the door was locked and the room full of smoke.
The door was forced open, and it was discovered that the bed was on fire. Farndale
procured a few buckets of water and extinguished the fire, but not before
the clothes and the bed were destroyed. Ackroyd and his wife were not at home
during the afternoon and it is not known how the fire originated.
1887
The Bradford Daily telegraph,
18 January 1887:
A HINT TO THE PUBLIC, On Monday four young men, named respectively John
Burke, Patrick Murphy, William Dawson and Thos Graham were brought up before Mr
Jas Bairstow and Mr TS Highley of the borough court, Halifax. Charged with
wandering abroad and begging in the neighbourhood of West Hill Park o the previous da. The Chief Constable said the prisoners
seemed to belong to a gang who had come to the town from some other districts.
They were seem leaving the beerhouse on Saturday
night at eleven o’clock, and again at ;half past two on Sunday afternoon, the
worse for drink. They went to the top of the town singing and begging through
the streets. They seemed to be a very determined lot. PC Farndale, PC
Gaukrodger and Sergeant Osborne gave evidence in corroboration of this
statement. … They were sent to prison for 14 days.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
14 September 1887:
DISORDERLY CONDUCT. At the Halifax Police Court on Tuesday, before Alderman
Midgeley and Mr TS Scarborough, John Liley, Upper Kirkgate, and Jane
Murgatroyd, of Bath Parade, a woman of loose character, were each charged with
disorderly conduct n Monday night in Berwick Square, Halifax. PCs Farndale
and Steele proved the charges. Prisoners were each fined 10s and costs.
John Conway, a powerful looking man, of no fixed abode, was charged with being
drunk on licensed premises on the 12th inst. PC Farndale found the
prisoner at the Talbot Vaults on the day in question. A fine of 2s 6d and costs
was imposed.
1888
By December 1888, Joseph had been promoted to Sergeant. The Leeds Times, 8 December
1888: A
SOLICITOR ORDERED OUT. The unusual spectacle of a solicitor being ordered out
was witnessed at the Halifax police court on Wednesday, Frederick J Chapman and
Mark Briggs, millhands, Spring Hall lane, were charged on remand with having
committed an unprovoked assault upon Franklin Ro, painter, on the evening of
November 26th. Mr Moore, who was for the defence persisted in
interfering and raising objections in the case with a vehemence which the Bench
appeared to resent, and eventually, upon a sergeant from the adjoining barracks
being called to speak to the fact of finding the complainant in the road, Mr
Moore objected several times to his evidence. At last after several
altercations with Mr Boorcock, the Bench told Mr
Moore that if he again interfered they would have him removed from the court.
Mr Moore persisted in his interference and the Bench directed the Chief
Constable (Mr C Pole) to have him removed from court. Police Sergeant
Farndale was entrusted with the task of carrying out the instruction of thee Bench, but Mr Moore proceeded to leave the court,
intimating that he would take action against the magistrate on account of the
treatment he had received. The further hearing of the case was adjourned until
Friday.
1889
The Halifax Courier, 12
January 1889: NUMEROUS
SHOP ROBBERIES. Harriet Nicholl, a young married woman … was brought up in
custody charged with four larcenies, only three of which were gone into, and
she pleaded guilty. All the robberies were committed from shop fronts within a
few hours of each other on Monday afternoon … PC Waddington and PC [sic??]
Farndale stated that when the woman was taken into custody she was perfectly
sober … She was committed to the House of Correction for one month.
The Halifax Courier, 10 August
1889: ASSAULTING
A CONSTABLE. Wm Crabtree, shoemaker .. was charged with being drunk and
disorderly … and with assaulting PC Wilson whilst in the execution of his duty
… Sergeant Farndale said the prisoner’s conduct and language in the office
were disgraceful – this was his third appearance …
1890
The Leeds Times, 10 May 1890: HALIFAX POLICE COURT
… On Thursday, Ellen Dobson, a married
woman, whose husband is employed at the coal yard at the railway station, and
who resides at Range-lane, Halifax, was brought before the magistrates. Police
Sergeant Farndale said that shortly after ten o’clock the woman came to the
police office with a knife in her hand and said she wanted to cut her throat.
He sent for her husband. He was evidently suffering from the effects of drink.
The husband said she had been drinking for a fortnight. They had no family. The
woman was remanded.
1891
The 1891 Census, for 18 Colberk
Street, Halifax listed Joseph Farndale, head, 26, Police Clerk; Emma Farndale,
wife, 28; Florence Farndale, aged 6; Eveline Farndale, aged 5.
By 1891, he was Chief Clerk with the Halifax police, with ambitions
for Chief Constableship, like his uncle:
The Yorkshire Evening Post,
26 September 1891: New Chief Constable of Grantham. Yesterday
the Watch Committee of the Grantham Town Hall appointed Chief Inspector
Holland, of Bootle, Liverpool, as Chief Constable of the Borough. Thirty
applications were sent in, from which six were selected and applicants attended
before the committee. The others were … Chief Clerk Farndale, Halifax
…
1892
Joseph Farndale became head of the Halifax detective department by
1892.
The Bradford Weekly Telegraph,
24 December 1892:
The appointment of Chief Clerk Inspector Farndale to the head of the
Halifax Detective Department will be perceived with favour by those with
whom the Inspector will come into contact. During the discharge of the onerous
duties of Chief Clerk he has displayed abilities which fit him for the post
of Detective Inspector, and he is a worthy successor to the late Inspector,
Mr E Newburn… The compliment paid by Mr Evans to Inspector Farndale, of the
Halifax police on Friday on his smart capture of the alleged Forger Fawcett
was well merited and adds another feather to the cap of the Inspector. The pace
by Fawcett was hotter than generally known, and the young man being known to be
in possession of firearms, the chase implied a certain amount of risk. Fawcett
took the train to Littleborough, where he alighted. Rochdale was reached by a
subsequent train, and Preston was afterwards visited, Fawcett taking the
precaution to change his attire. The same evening Fawcett took part in a fancy
dress ball at Preston and then decamped to Liverpool where the Inspector “ran
him to earth” in the suburbs. Altogether the capture was a very smart one.
He soon gained a reputation as a detective when he chased down a
forger to Liverpool. The Lincolnshire Chronicle, 16 December 1892: ALLEGED FORGERY BY A
BANK CLERK. At the Halifax Borough Court on Monday, Charles Fawcett, of
the Square, Halifax, was charged with having forged a cheque for £2,000 on
the Halifax branch of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank, in the name of
David Haigh, who has a deposit account there. Prisoner is only 19 years of age,
has for some time been employed as a bank clerk at the bank … Prisoner is well
known and respectably connected. For some time past he has expended his money
lavishly, and Inspector Farndale, of the Halifax Borough Police Force,
traced him to Walton on the Hill, Liverpool and arrested him on Saturday night.
He had over £80 in his possession and a loaded six chambered revolver. The
disclosures have created a great deal of a stir in Halifax.
The Yorkshire Evening Post, 16
December 1892:
LATE BUFF EDITION
THE ALLEGED FORGERY AT
HALIFAX
A CHEQUE FOR £2,000
COMMITTED FOR TRIAL
At the Halifax borough
court, today, Charles Fawcett, of the Square, Halifax, clerk, was charged on
remand with having forged a cheque for £2,000 on the Halifax branch of the
Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank, on the 6th instead. Mr. Evans (Messrs Godfrey
Rhodes and Evans), prosecuted, and Mr Storey appeared on behalf of the
prisoner.
The magistrates on the bench
were...
Great interest was taken in
the proceedings. The court was crowded long before 11 o’clock, the time for
commencing, and many people were unable to obtain admission.
Before the business was
commenced the Mayor, on behalf of the bench, and Mr Storey, on behalf of the
bar, welcomed 7 new magistrates who have recently been appointed.
Mr. Evans, in opening the
case, stated that he should ask the bench to commit the prisoner for trial
at the assizes on a charge of uttering a forged cheque knowing it to be
forged. The evidence as to the forgery of the cheque was purely circumstantial,
as no one had seen the prisoner write the name upon it. If prisoner was
committed for trial, then the charge of forgery could afterwards be gone into
at the assizes. For several years the prisoner had been employed at the Halifax
branch of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank as a Ledger clerk. Among the
customers of the bank was a gentleman named David Haigh, who on the 31st
October placed the sum of £2,000 at the bank on deposit account. The prisoner
was aware of this circumstance and being pressed for money by a man named
Crabtree had made two unsuccessful attempts to borrow money from Mr Haigh.
Prisoner told Mr Haigh that he had a considerable sum of money of his own, and
if Mr Haigh at any time wished to borrow £100 he would be pleased to lend it to
him. On the 6th December, when Mr Constantine, the cashier, went to the
Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank about 9:30 in the morning, he found the prisoner
and arrived before him, and had been alone in the premises. Prisoner informed
Mr Constantine that a man had been to the bank, and had inquired for a cheque,
though there were no loose ones on the counter, and prisoner stated that he had
taken an unused chequebook from the safe and given it to the man in question.
Prisoner described this man, and Mr Constantine replied, why that is Mr. David
Haigh. Prisoner said that was the name of the person he had alluded to. At 2:30
in the afternoon, prisoner went to London and Yorkshire Bank, which is also on
Crossley Street, in the absence of the manager. He saw the cashier, Mr
Hemingway, to whom he said “I have come to open a current account with you”. He
passed a check to Mr Hemingway, but the latter observed that there was no date,
no figures, and no payee upon it, handed it back to the prisoner The latter
said “I want you to fill it up”. Mr. Evans said that Mr Hemingway, with that
simplicity and confiding trust in fallen and depraved nature which did more
credit to his heart than his head, filled it up and put it in the name of the
London and Yorkshire Bank. Mr Hemingway, at the request of the prisoner, also
filled in the amount of £2,000. Later in the day the prisoner was made out the
banker’s draft at the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank, with which the cheque was
to be paid, and got the manager, Mr Riley, to sign it. After the bankers
draught had been issued to the London and Yorkshire Bank, the prisoner drew
pounds 100 of the money to give a creditor who was pressing him. He
subsequently drew out pounds 800 and pound 630 placed to the credit of its
father's account at the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank, and £200 was placed to
his own credit. On the Friday he absconded and was arrested on the Saturday
night by Inspector Farndale at Liverpool.
Evidence in support of the
charge was given by Mr. James Arthur Riley, the manager of the Lancashire and
Yorkshire Bank, and by Mr. David Haigh, bearing out Mr. Evans statement. The
latter stated he had not signed the cheque in question.
Fawcett was committed to
trial at the assizes bail being granted, himself, £1,000, and two sureties of
£500 each.
1893
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
2 January 1893:
HALIFAX BOROUGH – AN INDIGNANT PRISONER. Mary Clough, a
elderly woman, who refused to give any account of herself, was charged with
larceny from the person of Annie Pollard on Saturday night last in the lower
market. The prosecutrix, whilst standing near a pot stall, felt someone feeling
her pocket and accused the prisoner of taking her purse. The prisoner
indignantly replied “How dare you charge me with stealing your purse.”
Subsequently however she ran away, but was noticed by Sergeant Greenwood and
taken into custody. Chief Inspector Detective Farndale asked for a remand
until Friday, which was granted.
In the Bradford Daily Telegraph,
6 January 1893,
the story was reported under the headline AN OLD OFFENDER concerning
Rosanna O’Neill, alias Mary Clough, an elderly woman and it was reported
that Chief Inspector Detective Farndale said the prisoner had been
committed for penal servitude for similar offences at Preston and
Manchester. At present she was supposed to be under police supervision, but she
had never reported herself since leaving prison. She was committed to gaol for
two months.
The Yorkshire Evening Post, 4
January 1893:
WELL KNOWN IN THE CHOIR. At the Halifax Borough Court today, William Henry
Meham, rag sorter, of Chapel Fold, was charged with behaving himself in a
disorderly manner in Chapel Fold last night. When the prisoner’s name was
called he stepped quickly into the box and stated “Yes, your Lordship”. Detective
Inspector Farndale stated that the prisoner was a man of weak intellect.
The Chairman (Dr Dolan) asked the inspector if the prisoner had a mother. Upon hearing
the question the prisoner promptly replied, “I have a mother, doctor”. This led
one of the magistrates to remark that the prisoner seemed wideawake. …
The Yorkshire Evening Post, 13
January 1893:
DRUNK OR SOBER? CHARGE AGANST A HALIFAX LANDLORD. At the Halifax Borough
Court today, Aquilla Halstead, landlord of the Crispin Inn, Smithy Stoke, was
summoned for being drunk on his own licensed premises on the 7th inst … Detective Inspector Farndale stated that
about eleven o’clock on the morning of the 7th the defendant came to
the police office, and wished to know if he had been reported for being
drunk. He also stated that he should be examined by a doctor. The defendant
appeared to have braced himself up for the occasion. The defendant denied
that he had had anything to drink when the constables came to the house except
tea …
Joseph Farndale applied to be Chief Constable of St Albans in March
1893. The Herts Gazette, 4 March
1893: THE
NEW CHIEF CONSTABLE FOR ST ALBANS. The Watch Committee of the St Albans Town
Council, held a special meeting on Tuesday evening to choose from the seven
candidates, selected from 31 candidates the future head constable of the city.
The selected candidates were … Joseph Farndale, inspector and head of the
detective department, Halifax... The post is worth £140 a year.
Chief Constable of Margate
Police 1893 to 1897
Joseph became Chief Constable of Margate Borough Police in June
1893.
The Yorkshire Evening Post, 26
June 1893: THE
NEW CHIEF CONSTABLE OF MARGATE. Detective Inspector Farndale, of the Halifax
Borough Police, has been appointed Chief Constable of Margate. Mr
Farndale, who is only 30 years of age, is a native of Wakefield, being
the son of a well known tradesman in that city. He
was educated at Fieldhouse Academy, Aberford, and was intended for a chemist
and druggist. Ten years ago, he relinquished that profession for the police
force, which had greater attractions for him, and he became a constable at
Halifax. His ability was recognised, and at the end of four years he has risen
to be chief clerk. For six years he has discharged the duties of that
position ably and successfully. Upon the retirement of Detective Inspector
Newburn he was appointed head of the detective department, and the
success which he achieved in another sphere followed him there. Mr Farndale's
appointment to the Chief Constableship of Margate his well
deserved. He is in a nephew of Chief Constable Farndale, of Birmingham,
who also commenced at the bottom rung of the ladder, starting as a constable at
Middlesbrough some 30 years ago.
The Birmingham Daily Post, 27
June 1893: THE
NEW CHIEF CONSTABLE OF MARGATE. Detective Inspector Farndale, of the Halifax
Borough Police, has been appointed Chief Constable of Margate. Mr Farndale, who
is only thirty years of age, is a native of Wakefield, being the son of a well known tradesman in that city. He is the nephew of
Chief constable Farndale, of Birmingham. See FAR000350B.
The Sheffield Evening
Telegraph, 10 July 1893: The new chief constable of Margate, Mr Farndale, started,
like his uncle, the chief constable of Birmingham, from the bottom rung of the
ladder. A native of Wakefield, he began life in an apothecary’s shop, but at
the age of twenty abandoned the pestle and mortar and took service in the
Halifax police force. His choice of an occupation was justified in the
event, for in four years he rose to be chief clerk, and five years later was
appointed head of the detective department. He is still a young man, having yet
to complete his thirty first year.
Joseph Farndale gave his report on
licensing in September, reported in the Canterbury Journal, 16 September 1893.
ANNUAL LICENSING SESSION
The annual licencing session
for this borough was held on Thursday, the licencing committee being the Mayor
(Councillor Leetham), the ex Mayor (Alderman Hermitage),
and Messrs Keppel, Marshall, Pointon, Coleman and Head.
The Clerk, (Mr Boys), read
to the Chief Constable 's annual report, which was as follows:
Chief Constable’s office,
Town Hall, Margate, 7 September 1893.
To the chairman and justices
of the licencing committee for the borough of Margate.
Gentlemen, I have the honour
to report, for your information that there are within your jurisdiction 123
premises licenced for the sale of intoxicating liquors, being an increase
of two upon the number in existence at the last annual licencing meeting, and
taking the population according to the last census, gives an average of 1
licenced house to 149 persons, but it is estimated that for 4 months during the
year the average population will be at least 50,000, which will give an average
of 406 persons to 1 licence. 74 of the licences are for the sale of beer,
wines, and spirits, to be consumed on or off the premises; six for beer; 13
beer and wines; 2 wines; 4 beer; 3 for beer and wines to be consumed off the premises;
3 beer and spirits; 5 beer, wines and spirits; 6 wines; 2 wines and spirits; 1
beer cider and perry; 4 sweets. Seven of the licenced victuallers hold early
morning licences. One room is licenced for billiards. 30 publicans and 12
private persons, making a total of 42, hold music and dancing licences. During
the past year, 3 licence holders have been proceeded against for offences
against the tenure of their licences, and the result is as follows: for
being open during prohibited hours Henry Holier, off the Druids Arms was
fined £5 and costs. For selling intoxicating liquor to drunken persons
Robert Stokes, of the Hope and Anchor, was fined 20s and costs and a case of permitting
drunkenness at the First and Last was dismissed. 4 persons have been convicted
of being drunk on licenced premises. Licence holders had proceeded
against 3 persons for refusing to quit their licenced premises. 51 persons, of
whom 43 were males and 8 with females, have been preceded against for
drunkenness and 41 were convicted. There is a decrease of 6 on the number
preceded against during last year, and an increase of 6 up on the average for
the last four years. 9 full licences and 6 off licences have been transferred
but an application for the transfer of the licence of the Fort Castle Hotel,
was refused and the present holder of the licence has not had the premises open
for the sale of intoxicants since November last, and the premises have been
closed for the greater part of the last four years. The justices have granted
119 extensions of the time of closing licenced premises on occasions of
suppers, balls etc, being held on the premises. I have received notices of 7
applications for new licences, 3 of which are to sell beer, wine and spirits, 2
to sell beer and wines, 1 to sell spirits, and 1 to sell beer.
I have the honour to be,
gentlemen, your obedient servant, Joseph farndale.
Joseph became, in the antiquated language of the day, the Assistant
Relieving Officer for Tramps. The Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald, 29 July 1893: ASSISTANT RELIEVING
OFFICER FOR MARGATE. A letter was received from Mr J Farndale, Chief
Constable of Margate, in which he state that his predecessor (Mr Buck) having
held the appointment of assistant relieving officer for tramps, at a salary
of £5 5s per annum, he should be pleased if the Guardians would appoint him
to the post. On the motion of Mr Holttum, Mr Farndale
was appointed to the same office at the same salary as his predecessor.
The Thanet Advertiser, 5
August 1893: The
new chief constable of Margate, Mr Farndale, was welcomed on his arrival by Mr
Keble, Chairman of the Bench, on Wednesday.
The Whitstable Times and Herne
Bay Herald, 19 August 1893: In the trial of a man charged with having acted as a pedlar and
assault, Chief Constable Farndale said he had received several complaints
of the conduct of pedlars, who intimidated women by forcing goods on them
…
The Deal, Walmer
and Sandwich Mercury, 19 September 1893: LEAVING HORSES UNCONTROLLED. … Chief Constable Farndale said
he took up these cases on grounds of public safety, as a few days before this
offence a horse attached to a brewer’s van (which was being unloaded) ran away
along Marine terrace and it was a miracle that there was not a serious accident
..
1894
Joseph was also the Inspector of Weights and Measures. The Yorkshire evening Post, 6
June 1894: MR
J FARNDALE, formerly detective inspector at Halifax, and now Chief Constable of
Margate, has passed the examination held by the Board of Trade for inspector
of weights and measures.
The Thanet Advertiser, 9 June
1894: THE
CHARGE OF MANSLAUGHTER AT MARGATE. On Monday afternoon the Coroner’s Inquiry
into the death of John Dale, a carriage proprietor and greengrocer, which
occurred under circumstances reported in our last issue, was resumed at the
Town Hall. It will be remembered that a young cyclist named Frederick Louis
Collins of Paradise Street, collided with the deceased as he was crossing the
road. Collins was arrested and charged with manslaughter, and the hearing of
the case was adjourned … Chief Constable Farndale asked the witness how he
fixed the speed when he said the cyclist was riding about seven miles an hour
…
1895
He dealt with a case of a buyer who didn’t receive the incubator
which he had bought. The Empire News & The Umpire, 10 February 1895: An Arrest at Carlisle. A
desire sprung up in the breast of Mr Frederick Ind, of Margate, to become the
possessor of an incubator, and to pacify his longing he advertised his
requirement in the “Exchange and Mart”. The advertisement did not fail
to escape the watchful eyes of Albert Edward Woodson of Neasham Road,
Darlington, who considerately offered him one for the modest sum of 35s.
With commendable promptitude and in good faith, Mr Ind forwarded the amount
asked, but to his dismay no incubator arrived. The matter was then
transferred to a third party, and Chef Constable Farndale, of Margate, took
up the cudgels. He traced the young man with the incubator to 14 Tait
Street, Carlisle, where he discovered him carrying on a brisk business in the
name of Mr Hollands. He was promptly arrested, and at his lodging were found
numerous letters, most of which contained postal orders. Alas! For the young
man no incubator could be found, and as an excuse he pleaded poverty. He was
escorted to Margate where the magistrates have remanded him for a week.
The Canterbury Journal,
Kentish Times and Farmers’ Gazette, 11 May 1895: Chief Constable Farndale, inspector of
weights and measures, said on the 4th of March, he saw Henry
Baker delivering coal from sacks at the Station Hotel. He asked Baker if he had
delivered the coal ticket and he said that he had not,and
continued to deliver the coal. Afterwards he entered the bar; and in
consequence of what he (the Chief Constable) said to the previous witness, she
handed him the ticket now produced …
Joseph Farndale was regularly involved in bicycling offences. The Whitstable Times and Herne
Bay Herald, 24 August 1895: INSOLENCE TO A JP. William Sparn
was summoned for riding a bicycle in Paradise street without giving an audible
warning of his approach. Chief Constable Farndale said the defendant rode
the bicycle, on the 3rd inst, between
7 and 8 o’clock in the evening, down Paradise street, and there collided
with a foot passenger, who was crossing the roadway. He was not heard to
whistle or ring his bell …
The Thanet Advertiser, 12
October 1895:
VAGRANCY. Superintendent Farndale, of Margate Borough Police, reported that
during the year ended July 20th, 1895, 167 vagrants were relieved,
viz: 154 men, 11 women, and two children, 19 of whom were sent to the
Workhouse, and the remainder were accommodated in common lodging houses
at Margate.
1896
The Canterbury Journal,
Kentish Times and Farmer’s Gazette, 15 February 1896: A KIND HEARTED MISTRESS. Jane
Dack, domestic servant, aged 17, from Norfolk, was charged by her master, Mr
Hugh Denny, 29 with stealing a gold ring and about £10 … The prisoner
pleaded guilty and said she was sorry for it. She also said her mistress had
been very kind to her, and she had had a good place. Head Constable Farndale,
having said she told him how she spent the money, and that she was seized with
a temptation to steal, which she deeply regretted … her mistress had very
kindly informed the magistrates that she would take her back into service,
therefore they would bind her over for six months to be of good behaviour to
her mistress and everybody … The prisoner thanked the magistrates and her
mistress, and said she would do all she could to be a good girl in future.
He became interested in the Royal Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals (“RSPCA”). The Thanet Advertiser, 16 May
1896: THE
RSPCA. DEPARTURE OF INSPECTOR WALDING. On Thursday evening an interesting
ceremony was performed at the Margate Town Hall, the occasion being a
presentation to Inspector George Walding, who, for the past two years and eight
months, has energetically represented the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals, in this district, and who left yesterday for the Isle of Wight
District, where he will have sole charge. … There were present: Chief Constable
Farndale … the Chief Constable, addressing Inspector Walding, said the members
of the Force, from the highest and lowest, having been made aware that the
authorities of the RSPCA in London had thought fit to remove him to another
district, they wished in parting to show in some form of their appreciation of
the services he, Inspector Walding, had rendered to the police in many ways
during the time he had been stationed at Margate. With that view they had
subscribed towards a small present, a walking stick, as an acknowledgement of
his services, and as a memento of the good feeling which existed in the Force
towards him. Personally, he, Mr Farndale, must say it was very gratifying to
him as chief constable to find such a good feeling, existing between the police
and a representative of the noble society, the RSPCA, and he thought it was
the first occasion on which an officer of the society had had his services
acknowledged in this way. The society ought to be proud of such an officer for
the way in which he had discharged his onerous and often trying duties.
Concluding, Chief Constable Farndale said: I ask you to in the name of myself
and the whole members of the Force, to accept this walking stick as an
acknowledgement of the able manner in which you have carried out your duties,
the amicable way in which you have always worked with the police, and the ready
assistance you have always given them. I am echoing the wishes of every man in
the Force when I say I hope you will continue to be prosperous in your calling
as an officer of this society, and that you and your wife may enjoy good health
wherever you may be.
The Thanet Advertiser, 8
August 1896:
(In this article, there is a suggestion that he may have had a middle name J
(perhaps John after his grandfather), though this is not apparent anywhere
else): MARGATE AND THE VAGRANTS. Mr J J Farndale
(Chief Constable of Margate) wrote, in reply to the Board’s letter, that he
quite agreed with the Guardians that the accommodation for vagrants was
inadequate in Margate, and he intended shortly to bring the matter before
the local authority. It was not the custom to put vagrants into a common
lodging house unless it was too late to send them by train to Minster.
There was concern about a motor car driving in excess of 2 miles
per hour. Times were changing and the law needed to catch up. The Canterbury Journal,
Kentish Times and Farmer’s’ Gazette, 29 August 1896: MARGATE – FOURTEEN MILES
AN HOUR ON A MOTOR CAR. Charles Turrell, of 40 Holborn Viaduct, London, was
summoned before the Borough Justices on Wednesday for, on two dates, driving
a locomotive on the high street at a greater speed than two miles an hour.
The Chief Constable said the locomotive was a motor car and came within the
provisions of the Act. PC Bellingham proved that on 31st July he saw
the defendant driving his motor car down Paradise Street to the Parade at
the rate of 14 miles an hour. In cross examination by Mr Hills, he said he
had seen another motor car on the street, and had not reported it; that one was
driven carefully, and less than 14 miles an hour. Herbert Twyman swore that the
motor car in this instance was driven at the speed of 14 miles an hour. Chief
Constable Farndale, examined by Mr Hills, said he knew it was an offence to
drive a motor car in the streets more than two miles an hour. He knew that
a motor car was plying for hire in this borough for a month, and he had ridden
in it. He did not proceed against the man by whom it was driven, because he did
not think it was desirable to do so, but in this case, the driver travelled at
a rate dangerous to the public, viz, 14 miles an hour. He did not know when
he issued the summons that an Act of Parliament had been passed into law
permitting motor vehicles to travel on the highway like other vehicles. Mr
Hills stated that the Act had received Royal Asset; he could not say when; but
it had passed through Parliament before the summons was issued. The case was
dismissed, and the second summons was withdrawn.
In the early 1890s the
first cars to be driven on the roads in Britain were imported. In 1895, the
first man to own and drive a car in Britain was Evelyn Ellis. It is estimated
that by 1895, there were still only about 15 cars in Britain, imported from
abroad. By 1900, the number had risen to about 700. Work to build the first
motor car in Britain began in 1892 by Frederick Bremner, a gas fitter and
plumber. His vehicle first ran on the public highway in 1894. Fords started to
arrive in Britain from about 1908.
At the same time his
uncle, Joseph Farndale, Chief Constable of Birmingham Police, was involved in a
charge against a motor car driver for failing to have a man walking 20 yards
ahead of the vehicle. See FAR00350B.
1897
An early case of drunk horse and trap driving was brought to the
Police Court.
The Thanet
Advertiser, 2 January 1897: EXTRAORDINARY CODUCT. On Saturday, at the Margate Borough
Police Court, a fly driver named John William Woodward, appeared in
answer to a summons for being drunk in charge of a horse and trap, on Christmas
Eve. … Defendant continually interrupted whilst the officers gave
evidence and caused much amusement when he made the remark “I was as
sober as I am now.” It was quite evident that whilst the defendant stood
in the dock he was suffering from the effects of liquor. The Chief
Constable stated that he had seen several times previously convicted, but in
view of the festive season, the chairman intimated that he would only be fined
10s and costs. Defendant: I won’t pay. The Chairman: Fourteen days.
Defendant was about to be removed to the cells, when he shouted “Give us
another minute” and clung to the rails of the dock. The assistance of three
policemen had to be obtained in order to take the prisoner downstairs. Woodward
was placed in the dock again on Monday morning when Chief Constable Farndale
informed the magistrates that the prisoner was not in a fit condition to be
admitted to the gaol on Saturday. He (prisoner) now wished to apologise
for his conduct at the previous hearing and anted
to know if the mayor would allow him time to pay the fine. Prisoner said he was
sorry for what had occurred, but before going to the Court his master gave him
some drink which upset him. The magistrates refused the application and the
prisoner was removed below.
A fly driver drove a one
horse lightweight carriage.
The Whitstable Times and Herne
Bay herald, 13 February 1897: On a charge against a man for wilfully setting fire to his
chimney Chief Constable Farndale said when a witness told the defendant
his chimney was on fire, he said he knew it, and was going to burn the place
down. At that time there was a quantity of timber on a large coal fire, and
some waste paper in the fender …
The Jubillee of Queen Victoria. The Thanet Advertiser, 26 June
1897: The
Jubilee at Margate. On Sunday morning the Mayor Alderman E Maltby
and Corporation of Margate attended St. John's Church in state, accompanied by
various public bodies and prominent local officials. The order of processions
was as follows: mounted police; band of Number 7 company, 1st Cinque
Ports VA; No 7 company, 1st CPVA under Leiutenant A Leetam, Captain E Wastall 1st
VBEKR, Margate Lodge RAOB, Quiver lifeboat crew, Borough fire brigade under
Superintendent Wells, the Town Crier, freemasons, aldermen, councillors,
magistrates, officials, the town sergeant, His worship the Mayor, wearing his
robes and chain, Margate Borough Police, under Chief Constable J Farndale.
The route was from the town
hall by way of Duke Street, Parade, and High Street, crowds of people lining
the thoroughfares. At the church, which was crowded, the vicar of Margate,
Reverend W H T Ashton Gwatkin, preached an
appropriate sermon....
The Whitstable Times and Herne
Bay Herald, 14 August 1897: POLICE COURTS. THE OMNIBUS BYE LAWS INFRINGED. Edwin Gayward, 28, Byron Road, was summoned for conveying a
greater number of persons in an omnibus of which he was the driver that he was
authorised to do. Chief Constable Farndale said the proceedings were taken
under the 15th of the Omnibus Bylaws, which laid down that no more than 18
persons, exclusive of the driver and conductor, should occupy an omnibus drawn
by two horses. The defendant had 20 passengers, and when PC Leper pointed that
fact out to him, before he left the stand, he defied to the constable and drove
off. PC Leper having proved the case, the defendant said his break was licenced
by the Watch Committee to accommodate 22 persons, but Alderman Wootton, who is
on the Watch Committee, denied that was the case. Sergeant Ferrier said there
were twenty adult passengers and one child. The defendant repeated that his
break was licenced to carry 22, and that he did not know anything of 18. He
admitted that, including children, he had 21 passengers; two children counted
as one passenger. The defendant was fined 5s and 8s costs.
Chief Constable of York
Police, 1897 to 1900
Joseph Farndale became Chief Constable of York from 1897 to 1900 (Letter).
The Manchester Evening News,
25 September 1897:
The New Chief Constableship of York. The Watch Committee of the York
Corporation, at a meeting yesterday afternoon, had personal interviews with the
four gentlemen selected for the final choice rom the
twenty seven applicants for the position of Chief Constable. Mr Joseph
Farndale, Chief Constable of Margate; Mr Jones Chief Constable of Grantham; Mr
Pelley, Devon Police; and Inspector Reeve, Doncaster were the selected
candidates, and the committee’s choice finally fell upon Mr Farndale.
The new Chief Constable is thirty three years of age, and has held the
position of Chief Constable of Margate since 1893. Prior to that time he had
passed through various grades from the ranks, and had been send in command at
Halifax.
The Edinburgh Evening News, 25
September 1897:
THE CHIEF CONSTABLESHIP OF YORK. Mr Joseph Farndale, Chief Constable of
Margate, was yesterday chosen out of a short list of four to be Chief Constable
of York.
The Yorkshire Post and Leeds
Intelligencer, 5 October 1897: The Watch Committee reported the resignation of Mr E T Lloyd
as Chief Constable, and their proposal to appoint Mr John [sic] Farndale, now
Chief Constable of Margate, as his successor at a salary of £300. After
some discussion the report was adopted, and Mr Farndale, who was in attendance,
was called into the room, and returned thanks for his appointment. He stated
that he would be able to commence the duties on 1st of November.
The Whitstable Times and Herne
Bay Herald, 16 October 1897: THE CHIEF CONSTABLE’S RESIGNATION. The Watch Committee
reported that they had accepted Mr Farndale’s resignation as chief constable,
on his appointment to a similar position in York. They recommended that their
satisfaction at the way in which he had discharged his duties should be
engrossed on vellum and presented to him. They advised that a new chief
constable should be advertised for. Mr Rigdon thought, whoever was appointed
should personally discharge the duties of Inspector of Weights and Measures. Mr
Rolfe said he noticed that there was a charge for an assistant’s services. He
wished to know who authorised the payment? He had asked Mr Brooke, in the
Finance Committee, but he did not know anything of it. Mr Brooke: so far as my
memory served me, Mr Simmons also objected to the payment. Alderman Leetham
spoke of the pleasure it gave him to hear of the report as to the satisfaction
of Mr Farndale had given it to the Watch Committee, and he said he
congratulated the chief constable on the his important appointment. Alderman
Coleman said he knew when the inspection of weights and measures took place it
was necessary that the Chief should be assisted. He suggested that, at the next
meeting, a resolution should be carried as to the payment to the assistant….
Joseph was given a good send off from Margate. The Whitstable Times and Herne
Bay Herald, 30 October 1897:
PRESENTATIONS TO CHIEF
CONSTABLE FARNDALE. FROM THE BURGESSES.
On Wednesday, presentations
were made to Mr Joseph farndale, the chief constable of this borough, who has
recently been appointed to the command of the city police of York. The mayor
presided and there were present...
The Mayor said he had a very
pleasing duty to perform - the presentation of a purse of gold to the chief
constable, on his appointment to York, after having held his present office
nearly five years. The magistrates and members of the Watch Committee well knew
the ability with which he discharged his duty duties; And, so far as he was
concerned, he, as Mayor, had worked very amicably with him during the present
year. He believed he had done his duty thoroughly well and to the
satisfaction of the burgesses. Of course the chief constable held a peculiar
position. It was not likely that he would please the whole of the burgesses; on
the contrary, a chief constable, if he discharged his duty impartially, as he
had every reason to believe Mr farndale had, he was very likely to displease a
number of persons; but he thought he would leave Margate with the good wishes
of all whose good opinion desirable. He hoped, when he assumed his important
duties in the ancient City of York, he would be successful in all he had to do.
He was sure he would do it with his whole heart, as he had in Margate. In
handing the purse and contents to Mr Farndale, his worship said it afforded him
great pleasure to do so; And that he wished him every success in his new office
(cheers).
Chief Constable Farndale
said he did not know how to find words to express his thanks to those who had
thus shown their appreciation for his services. He thought, when he came here,
he had a difficult task before him. He followed a most excellent chief
constable, Mr Buck, who did much to improve the police force; Therefore, it
was most pleasing to him to find that he had succeeded in maintaining the
efficiency of the force, which he is pleased to say was efficient in every
sense. The town had splendid police accommodation, which was very inadequate
when he came to Margate. He felt very grateful to the magistrates for their
kind consideration when he conducted cases before them. It was no easy task to
discharge his duties. He always considered the offenders and the interests of
the town, and had received much encouragement from their worships. Referring to
the Watch Committee he said that, whatever they did had a very great effect in
a town such as Margate. He was pleased to find, by the resolution they had
placed on their minutes, that he had satisfied them during the time he had been
there. He then paid a high eulogy on his force, and made special mention
of at most respected officer, Inspector Penfold (cheers). The whole of the
members had helped in the maintenance of the good name of Margate, so far as
policing was concerned. He would be pleased if he found such an efficient force
at York. He expressed his thanks to the magistrates’ clerk and town clerk and
their deputies; and said he should always remember Margate. His residence here
had been very pleasant; and he hopes to be spared to see Margate a very
prosperous and big centre.
The mayor expressed the
regret of Alderman Leetham and Councillor Brown at their inability to be
present.
The amount of the
subscription was £46 7s 6d.
From the police force.
The Mayor then, on behalf of
the police force, nearly the whole of whom gave their subscription to the fund,
handed to the chief constable, a sword, supplied by Messrs Samuel Bros,
Ludgate Hill, London on which was the following inscription:
“Presented to Joseph
Farndale, chief constable, by the officers and men of the Margate police force,
on his appointment as Chief Constable of the City of York, October 1897.”
It also bears the monogram
“JF”, and the Margate borough arms.
His worship stated that Margate
has now a police force second to none anywhere (cheers). They were a fine
body of men, and from Inspector Penfold, who judging by the cheers with which
his name had been received, was deservedly popular, and to the youngest member
all did their duty well.
Inspector Penfold thanked
the Chief Constable for his kindness to the members, and expressed their best
wishes for his happiness, and that of Mrs Farndale and family.
Chief Constable Farndale, in
returning thanks, spoke of the great interest he had taken in all that
concerned the welfare of those serving under him.
From the firemen
The officers and members of
the borough fire brigade assembled at the Queens Arms, on Wednesday evening, and presented
to Mr Farndale, a silver mounted inkstand. The presentation was made by
Superintendent well; And the chief constable suitably acknowledged the gift. Several
songs were sung during the evening.
The Hull Daily Mail, 2
November 1897: Mr
J Farndale, the newly appointed Chief Constable of York, was sworn in
yesterday at the York Police court, and entered upon his duties.
1898
Clearly ambitious, it wasn’t long before Joseph Farndale was
looking for another upgrade. The Derby Mercury, 9 November 1898: THE CHIEF CONSTABLESHIP OF SHEFFIELD. The
four selected candidates for the appointment of chief constable of Sheffield
are Mr. James Enright, chief constable of Rotherham; Mr Joseph Farndale,
chief constable of York; Commander Scott, chief constable of Salford, and
Mr Edward Sperrin, Chief Superintendent at Liverpool There were 19 candidates.
The Yorkshire Evening Post, 30
December 1898: A
FORMER LEEDS POLICE OFFICIAL. Mr A C Mackintosh, at present chief constable of
Maidstone, formerly chief clerk in the Leeds police office, is among the applicants
for the vacant chief constable ship of Newcastle. The list also includes
the names of Mr Joseph Farndale, chief constable of York, and Mr W H Jones,
chief constable of Stockport. Another of the applicant is a London barrister,
while the chief clerk of the Bucks County council figures in the list.
1899
The Leeds Mercury, 7 January
1899 (also
reported in Nottingham
Evening Post): The
Chief Constableship of Newcastle. The Watch Committee of Newcastle
Corporation yesterday made a selection of five from the list of candidates for
the position of Chief Constable of the city, at a salary to begin with of £500.
The Council will be invited to make the final choice to which the Watch
Committee will give effect next Friday. The selected five are – Joseph
Farndale, chief constable of York …
The York Herald, 10 January
1899: York
City Police. £5 Reward. Whereas on Sunday, the 8th inst, some person or persons wilfully killed a young
SWAN on the Rover Ouse, near Clifton Ings, the property of the Ouse
Navigation Committee, by shooting it in the neck.
The above reward will be
paid to any person giving such information as will lead to the conviction of
the offender. Joseph Farndale, Chef Constable, Chief Constable’s Office, York,.
9th Dec, 1898
The Manchester Evening News,
12 January 1899:
The Newcastle City Council yesterday took a vote upon the five
candidates selected by the Watch Committee from the applicants for the position
of Chief Constable. District Inspector James B Wright (37) was appointed. The
other selected candidates were … Joseph Farndale (34), chief constable, York
…
He didn’t do well in the Newcastle Chief Constable application,
perhaps it was too soon. The Shields Daily News, 12
January 1899: THE
NEW CHIEF CONSTABLE OF NEWCASTLE. MR WRIGHT OF BELFAST. A meeting of the
Newcastle City Council was held yesterday, in the council chamber, Mr George
Harkus, Mayor, presiding, the principal business being the appointment of a
chief constable for the city. The following was the result of the vote voting:
The first vote. The first vote was Wilson, 22; Wright, 20; Wymer, 10; Morant,
8; Farndale, 3. Second vote. The name of Mr Farndale was dropped and the second
vote was...
Within months he was applying for the vacancy for
Chief Constableship of the city of Birmingham, after his uncle Joseph Farndale
(FAR00350B) had
resifgned that post due to ill health. The Manchester Evening News, 5 July 1899: The Chief Constableship
of Birmingham. The Birmingham Watch Committee yesterday received tabulated
statements concerning the applicants for the chief constableship of the city.
There are exactly 50 applicants, and it is a notable fact that over half of
them are gentlemen whose only qualification appears to be a military training. Among
the candidates is Mr Farndale, the chief constable of York, a nephew of Mr
Joseph Farndale (FAR00350B),
the retiring chief. …
The Manchester Evening News, 8
July 1899 (also
reported in Nottingham
Evening Post): The
vacant Chief Constableship of Birmingham. The judicial sub-committee of the
Birmingham Watch Committee yesterday held a special meeting to consider the
applications – exactly 50 in number – for the office of Chief Constable,
rendered vacant by the resignation of Mr Joseph Farndale (FAR00350B). The proceedings which
were conducted in private, lasted upwards of an hour, and at the conclusion it
was stated that eight gentlemen had been selected to attend personally before a
further meeting of the sub-committee, to be held Friday next, when the final
choice will in all probability be made :- The eight applicants in question were
… Joseph Farndale, 35, Chief Constable of York …
The York Herald, 10 July 1899: YORK LIFEBOAT SATURDAY. … The
Chief Constable (Mr J T Farndale) in his uniform, rode at the head of the
procession, attended by a couple of mounted police …
The Manchester Evening News,
17 July 1899: Appointment
of the Chief Constable for Birmingham. The Birmingham Watch Committee at a
special meeting this morning appointed Mr G H Rafter, Chief Constable of the City.
Mr Rafter who is 42 years of age, has been District Inspector of the Royal
Irish Constabulary at Boyle. The appointment was vacant owing to the retirement
of Mr Joseph Farndale through ill health. Mr Rafter has had 16 years’ Irish
police experience.
So on Joseph Farndale’s (FAR00350B) resignation as
Chief Constable of Birmingham through ill health, his nephew, also Joseph
Farndale was shortlisted amongst eight to succeed his uncle, but in the event
Sir Charles Haughton Rafter was appointed.
In May 1899, York took possession of a splendid new fire engine. The York Herald, 2 May 1899: TESTING A NEW FIRE ENGINE
IN YORK. Yesterday afternoon, in St George’s Fields, the power of a new
fire engine, which has been supplied to the town of Thornaby on Tees by
Messrs Rose, of Manchester, was tested … The operations were under the
superintendence of the Chief Constable (Mr Farndale) … the engine is guaranteed
to pump 350 gallons per hour, but when under full pressure it threw 153
gallons more, or a total of 503 gallons per hour …
The York Herald, 27 May 1899: SERVICE AT YORK MINSTER. The
80th birthday of the Queen was celebrated on Wednesday in
York with becoming loyalty … The following magistrates preceded by the Chief
Constable (Mr J Farndale) were the first of the civic dignitaries to arrive
…
The York Herald, 9 June 1899: A SECOND CASE. William
H A F short, hairdresser and tobacconist, of Clarence street, York, was summoned
for keeping his house and shop for the purpose of betting... Mr Farndale
read the letter which was addressed to the defendant and signed by the witness,
and which requested the defendant to put him sixpence ‘each way’ on several
horses, the names of which were given. It was stated in the letter that if the
money was not enough he would call that night. In answer to further questions,
the witness said the letter was not written for himself, but he could not
explain why he had used the word ‘me’ in the phrase ‘put me sixpence each way’.
One of the horses won, but he did not go down that night or since, because he
sent no money. The chief constable said there had evidently been an enclosure,
as the letter referred to money...
The York Herald, 14 October
1899: INQUEST
AND VERDICT. Mr J R Wood, Coroner for the city, resumed the inquest on Tuesday,
in the Alma Terrace police station, on the body of John Dunn, of 76, Alma Terrace,
who met his death on the night of second inst,
from violence alleged to have been inflicted upon him by Thomas Norman Latham,
a neighbour. Mr K E T Wilkinson appeared for the defence of Latham. Mr.
J Farndale, chief constable, was present during the inquiry. Gertrude
Young, living with her father, a compositor, at 29 Alma Terrace, corroborated
the evidence given by her father on the last occasion. The noise they heard
coming from Latham’s back kitchen on the night of 2nd October was like
struggling, and the banging of pots and things flying about. They rushed out
into the yard, and then heard what sounded like the splitting of a stick. They
heard heavy blows being dealt by someone in Latham's yard...
The Yorkshire Gazette, 18
November 1899: The
Chief Constable of York (Mr J Farndale) replied. He took the opportunity to
refer to the claims of the wives and families of our soldiers in arms in
South Africa, and calling attention to the Lord Mayor's fund, suggested
that a subscription towards it should be made in that room and that at that
moment. (Applause).
When the Watch Committee raised Joseph Farndale’s salary, questions
were being asked about the number of applications he was making to apply for
chief constableships of other cities. The councillors
later conceded that they had been too penny pinching to retain leaders of the
right calibre. The Yorkshire Gazette, 9
December 1899: THE
CHIEF CONSTABLE’S SALARY. Alderman Coning having proposed the reception of the
Watch Committee's report, questions were put by Mr Hornsey and Mr. Carter. In
replying to Mr Hornsey, the Alderman said he could not absolutely state how
many applications for situations in other towns had been made by the chief
constable. He informed Mr. Carter that the Council had no guarantee that
the chief constable would not apply for an appointment elsewhere. The
report having been received, Alderman Coning moved its adoption. In supporting
the proposed advance of Mr Farndale salary from £300 to £350 per annum,
he said he was a very efficient officer, who had already saved the city a
considerable sum by the way in which he managed the Police Department. Mr Brown
seconded the motion. Mr Hornsey: it is all very well for Alderman Coning to say
he doesn't know how many times the chief constable has applied for situations
elsewhere. Alderman Coning: Do you mean since he came to York? Mr Hornsey: Yes.
Alderman Coning: oh! I thought you meant in his life (Laughter). Mr Hornsey
said they should have a guarantee for something like permanent service within
their public offices. The proper thing for the chief constable, if he was
dissatisfied, to resign, and the Corporation should then advertise the office.
Perhaps they would get someone twice as competent. He was saying nothing
against the chief constable (Laughter). Had they elected a York man this would
not have occurred....
The York Herald, 30 December
1899: FIRE
AT SALEM CHAPEL, YORK: A fire broke out in the Salem Chapel, York, last
night which was fortunately subdued before it reached very large proportions,
although it caused a considerable amount of damage while it lasted. The
information of the outbreak was conveyed to the central police station by Mr.
Smith of the steam laundry, Aldwark, by telephone at
4.46. The steamer and fire escape were at once sent off in the charge of
Superintendent Gains and Inspector Mason who were subsequently joined by the
chief constable Mr Farndale. On their arrival the brigade found flames
issuing from the gallery windows on the left-hand side of the building. Mr
Smith's men were at work with the hosepipe throwing water on the flames through
the windows. The brigade connected their hose with the hydrant in St Saviourgate, and went into the building and played on the
flames, which they soon succeeded in extinguishing. There are two means of
heating the chapel, one by gas which warms the upper part and the other by hot
water pipes which heats the lower portion, and it is supposed that the fire
originated in some way from the gas apparatus.
1900
Chief Constable of Bradford
City Police Force, 1 August 1900 to 31 December 1930
Joseph became Chief Constable at Bradford in 1900, to succeed
Roderick Ross, who had left for Edinburgh.
See also the Bradford Police Museum.
The Birmingham Daily Post, 25
June 1900:
CHIEF CONSTABLE CANDIDATES. The eight candidates selected out of the applicants
for the chief constableship of Bradford have been reduced to six, all of whom
will appear before the watch committee next Friday. They are:... Mr. J
Farndale, chief constable of York;...
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
30 June 1900: Bradford’s
new Chief Constable comes with an excellent reputation. Mr Farndale
has had wide experience at Halifax, Margate, and York; he has passed through
all grades, is a policeman by choice, and is a good disciplinarian without
being a martinet. Having done some smart things himself as a subordinate,
he may be trusted to recognise merit on the part of young officers under his
charge. The Watch Committee’s choice, I firmly believe, will be justified
by a better acquaintance with Mr Farndale.
The Yorkshire Post and Leeds
Intelligencer, 30 June 1900: Mr Joseph Farndale, Chief Constable of York, was yesterday
selected by the Bradford Watch Committee as Chief Constable of that City, in
succession to Mr R Ross, now of Edinburgh. Six selected candidates appeared
before the Committee, there being originally twenty nine applicants. The
salary attached to the office is £500.
The Leeds Mercury, 30 June
1900: The
Chief Constableship of Bradford. Mr Joseph Farndale, Chief Constable of York,
was yesterday appointed Chief Constable of the city of Bradford, at a salary of
£500 a year, in succession to Mr R Ross, who has become Chief Constable of
Edinburgh. Mr Farndale was born at Wakefield in 1864, and first joined the
Halifax force, where in the course of ten years he advanced to the degree of
detective inspector. In 1888 he was appointed Chief Constable of Margate, and
three years ago became Chief Constable of York.
The York Herald, 3 July 1900: THE CHIEF CONSTABLE OF
YORK. CONGRATULATIONS AND REGRETS. At the York City Police Court on Monday the
magistrates present were the Lord Mayor, Alderman Rymer and Mr H Tennant. The
Lord Mayor addressing the chief constable, Mr. J Farndale, said that since they
had seen him in that court they had heard that he had been appointed to the
chief constableship of Bradford. They could congratulate Mr Farndale,
although he did not think that they could congratulate themselves. They could
congratulate him on getting the appointment at Bradford, and upon the able way
in which he had discharged his duties in that court. He had given universal
satisfaction to the court in the way he had conducted himself, and it was with
regret that they took leave of him. He hoped that Mr Farndale would be happy in
his new appointment. Mr F J Munby, magistrates clerk, endorsed the remarks of
the Lord Mayor. Mr H Tennant said that the Lord Mayor had stated the case very
aptly as regarded the feelings of the magistrates. They regretted for their own
sakes that Mr Farndale was going to leave York, but they could not properly say
that they regretted that he had got the appointment at Bradford. Promotion
was what people looked forward to, and they congratulated Mr Farndale on every
ground. Mr Wilkinson, solicitor, said that personally he was very sorry that
Mr Farndale was going to leave them. He had had a great deal to do with the
chief constables and they could take his duties in that court very unpleasant
or very pleasant and he was bound to say that his relations with Mr Farndale
had been very amicable. Mr Farndale said that he naturally felt very proud of
the great honour conferred on him by the authorities of Bradford, and it caused
him a great amount of joy, but his cup of joy had been mixed with a little
bitterness in leaving the ancient City of York. He felt very acutely the
remarks made that morning. He said that he had been guided in performing his
work in that court by the endeavour to do his duty between man and man. The
chief constable has received letters of congratulation from the city members
and from a large number of citizens.
The Whitby Gazette, 6 July
1900: MR
FARNDALE, OF YORK, APPOINTED. The Bradford Watch Committee on Friday made the
appointment of chief constable for the city, in succession to Mr R Ross, now of
Edinburgh. The original applications numbered 29 and the six selected
candidates were Mr Joseph Farndale, chief constable of York... These attended
before the committee, and Mr Farndale received the appointment, the salary
attached to which is £500. Mr Farndale is 36 years of age and married. He is
a native of Wakefield, and a nephew of the ex chief
constable of Birmingham, who hailed from the Whitby district. He began his
career as an ordinary constable at the age of 20 in the Halifax force. He was
promoted step by step until at the age of 29 he was second in command in that
borough. He then applied for and received the chief constableship of Margate,
where he served for a little over four years. In 1897 he was elected chief
constable of York, where the normal force is one of 78 men, though in special
seasons it is increased to 200.
The Derbyshire Times and
Chesterfield Herald 7 July 1900 (also reported in the Burnley Express, 4 July 1900): Mr Joseph Farndale, Chief Constable of
York, a nephew of the former Chief Constable of Birmingham and Chesterfield,
has been appointed Chief Constable of Bradford. The salary attached to the
office is £500 per annum.
The Leeds Mercury, 11 July
1900: Bradford
City Council. The Chief Constableship. A meeting of the Bradford City Council
was held yesterday, Mr WE Ackroyd presiding. Mr J Moorhouse, in moving the
minutes of the Watch Committee, which included the appointment of Mr Joseph
Farndale as Chef Constable of Bradford, at a salary of £500 a year, said the
committee felt Mr Farndale would discharge the duties of the office to the
satisfaction of the Council.
Clearly the issue is
that the councillors of York were skimping on pay, and in consequence were
not keeping their high officers. The York
Herald, 17 July 1900: THE APPOINTMENT OF THE CHIEF CONSTABLE. A
special meeting of the York City council was held on Monday evening, to receive
and consider the following report of the Watch Committee: “Your committee have
to report that the chief constable has tendered his resignation, having
received the appointment of chief constable at the city of Bradford. The
committee desire to record their high appreciation of the efficient
manner in which Mr Joseph Farndale has discharged the duties of chief constable
of this city, and whilst congratulating him on his promotion to the chief
constable ship of Bradford, they regret that his services will be lost to the
city. The committee recommend that they be authorised to advertise for a
successor to Mr Farndale at a commencing salary of £350 per annum. The chief
constable will be required to act as Chief Inspector of Weights and Measures”....
Mr Lund proposed, as a further amendment, that the salary offered be £300
instead of £350. Mr Chapman seconded. The sheriff hoped that the Corporation
would not pass the amendment to come up but would agree to the larger amount
in the hope that they might get a good man, and one who would remain
with them. These frequent changes were very unsatisfactory. Alderman
Purnell pointed out that the regulation of the cabs and carriages and of the
weights and measures had been taken over by the Chief Constable since Mr
Farndale took up the duties. Alderman Coning characterised the proposed
reduction is a false economy, and was understood to say that the chief
constable would be well worth to York the salary that he was receiving at
Bradford. Mr Farndale had saved the city scores of pounds. Alderman Mackay:
Many hundreds. Alderman Border supported the committee. Mr. Robinson said that
taking into account the growth of the city and the increase in its
population he thought it only right that there should be a corresponding
increase in the chief constable salary. He should vote for £350. He, however,
approved of Mr. J S Grey’s suggestion that they should intimate that no
recommendation for another post or increase of salary would be granted for two
years. Mr Weir also supported the committee. On being put to the vote the
amendment was lost. They reported the committee with the omission of the word
‘commencing’ was then passed, and the Council rose.
The York Herald, 23 July 1900: THE CHIEF CONSTABLE OF
YORK. To the editor of the Yorkshire Herald. Sir, will you allow me to give
expression through your paper to the general opinion which exists in the
city, that the corporation of York have made another serious mistake in
permitting Mr Farndale to accept a more lucrative and responsible position,
when an advance of salary would have secured his continued services in this
city. If I am informed that on each of the three occasions when Mr Farndale
became a candidate for vacant appointments, he had previously intimated his
intention to the Watch Committee, but had received no encouragement to stir
any advance either then, or in the future, and he was therefore compelled
to obtain preferment outside the City of York, where his services would be better
recognised and appreciated. There is another instance of that short
sighted policy of penny wise and pound foolish, which characterised
characterise the actions of the majority of our councillors. They never know
when they have got a good man, and they had invariably let him slip
through their fingers, rather than retain an efficient officer by paying
him the salary his experience and services had can command elsewhere. I believe
Mr Farndale has been nearly three years in York, and during the whole of
that time, peace has reigned between the Watch Committee and their chief
constable, which has never been the case for years previously, the police as a
body have been better looked after, and have consequently become more
efficient, there has been no friction between the chief and the magistrates, as
formerly, and the city has been saved considerable expense in various ways by Mr
Farndale's organisation and prudent arrangements, when important local
functions required extra attention, or the calling in of assistance from
neighbouring towns. This was never more forcibly exemplified than on the
recent visit of the Prince of Wales, and the other members of the royal
party, during the Royal Agricultural Show. By Mr Farndale’s judicious
and ample arrangements, royalty was never better safeguarded, or better order
maintained amongst the thousands of visitors who attended the show, whilst at
least a couple of hundred pounds was saved to the ratepayers, as compared with
previous royal visits. I know that it is now too late to retain Mr Farndale,
but I trust the experience of the past will have its effect in inducing the
council when appointing his successor to give some reasonable pledge that there
would be an increase of salary, on satisfaction having been given, after a
certain length of time. Yours, a ratepayer. July 21, 1900.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
1 August 1900: Mr
Farndale, the new Chief Constable, commenced his duties in Bradford this
morning, when he took over the command o the city
force.
The Leeds Mercury, 10 August
1900: Mr J
Farndale, late of York, and now the Chief Constable of Bradford, was formally
introduced to his men yesterday.
The York Herald, 18 August
1900: We
have received a copy of the following minute, “Her Majesty's Justices of the
Peace, acting in, and for the City of York in meeting, assembled on Monday, the
13th day of August, in the year of our Lord 1900, have pleasure in recording
that during the last three years this city has been well and faithfully served
in the office of Chief Constable by Mr Joseph Farndale, who has shown much forsight, patient ability, and judgement in the discharge
of his duties; and the justices desire to convey to Mr Farndale their best
wishes for his health and happiness in his new sphere of duty.” the Lord Mayor
was in the Chair.
There was a problem with juvenile crime. The Leeds Mercury, 20 October
1900: JUVENILE
CRIME IN BRADFORD. AN UNENVIABLE REPUTATION. Bradford is creating an undesirable
reputation just now for juvenile criminality. Of late months the number of
young persons brought before the City Court has been
greatly in increase of anything experienced for some considerable period, and
the Stipendiary Magistrate ha's intimated that he will in future adopt a much
sterner attitude to those who are bought before him, especially after a first
conviction. During the quarter just closed no less than 52 persons under the
age of 16, consisting of 50 boys and 2 girls, have been charged with various
offences, as compared with only five in the previous quarter. Recently
there have been systematic raids on pigeon cotes and places where poultry is
kept, whilst other youths have devoted their attention to stripping the
metal from uninhabited houses and warehouses. The subject has occupied the
serious attention of the Chief Constable (Mr Farndale), and he has come to the
conclusion that the facilities afforded young persons for the disposal of the
stolen property is an important element in the present undesirable condition of
affairs. The law restricts the purchase of smaller quantities of metals, but
this fact notwithstanding, there are brokers and marine store dealers who are
open to take small lots of material from young people, and the police
complain that they have not powered sufficiently comprehensive to deal in the
most effective way with these dealers. To remedy this defect as far as
possible, application is to be made to parliament in the next session cover for
an extension of the powers the city police at present possess, and a clause to
that effect has been included in the bill which the Bradford Corporation is
promoting. By this means it is hoped something will be done to lessen the
number of juvenile criminals in the district; And meanwhile the city Chief
Constable is making what use he can of the powers he now possesses, and
proceedings are to be taken against some dealers who have not, it is thought,
exercised such discretion as is necessary by persons in their position. It is a
fact that today there are in Armley gaol more young criminals from Bradford
than from any other large city centre of population in the West Riding of
Yorkshire.
1901
The 1901 Census, for 2 Undercliffe
Lane, Bradford listed Joseph Farndale, Chief Constable of Police, head, aged
36; Emma Farndale, his wife, aged 38; Florence Selby Farndale, aged 16; Eveline
Farndale, aged 15; Emma Elsie Gladys Farndale, aged 7; and Luch Woodhams and
Maria Mocarthy, servants.
The new century was welcomed in at Bradford. The Bradford Observer, 2
January 1901: In
commemoration of the opening of the twentieth century, the Mayor (Mr W C
Lupton), the members of the City Council, the chief officials of the
Corporation, the city magistrates, and a number of gentlemen representing
institutions of the town, attended Divine service yesterday at Bradford Parish
Church … The procession consisted of a posse of police under Chief Constable
Farndale (who had altogether 120 men on duty in connection with the
proceedings)…
The Bradford Observer, 19
January 1901: STREET
HAWKING BY CHILDREN. A conference was held at the Bradford Town Hall yesterday
between representatives of the Watch Committee of the city, the Bradford School
Board, and the Bradford Board of Guardians with the object of considering the
best means of putting into force the powers obtained by the Corporation in last
year's bill for regulating street trading by children. The chairman of
the Watch Committee, Mr J Moorhouse presided, and among others present
were... and the Chief Constable (Mr
Farndale). Considerable discussion took place as to the most desirable means of
attaining the end in view, that of safeguarding the interests not only of the
children, but also of the general public. It was ultimately resolved that a
deputation representing the three authorities should visit Liverpool, where
similar powers I've been exercised for some time, to inquire into the methods
adopted there. Draft copies of the regulations proposed are to be submitted to
the Board of Guardians and the School Board for approval before being adopted. A
suggestion that children to be dealt with should not in the first instance be
taken to a police station or the Workhouse was favourably received by all
the parties.
The Bradford Observer, 26
March 1901:
THE POLICING OF BRADFORD IN
THE PAST CENTURY. PREESENT POSITION OF THE FORCE.
The first annual report of the Chief
Constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, for the year ended 31st, 1900 December 31st,
1900, begins with an interesting reference to the “watching
and policing of Bradford during the 19th century,” Mr Farndale says:
At the beginning of the
century there were no police but the whole team was watched (at night time), by
only seven watchmen, appointed by the commissioners, and this number was
reduced in April of each year to two. In 1827 six additional watchmen were
appointed, due no doubt to the increasing population, as in 1803 the population
was 14,000, whereas in 1821 it had increased to 20,000. This state of things
existed until 1847, with the exception that, the number of watchmen had been
increased to 28. In these days a great economy seems to have been observed in
clothing the Watchmen, as will be seen from a minute passed in 1804: “Resolved
that two new coats be provided for two of the oldest Watchmen and that three of
the old coats be appropriated in repairing for old ones.”
In the year 1831 the
so-called police force must have been in a deplorable state according to the
report of a Committee of Inquiry, which sees says as follows: They “regret to
observe that whilst the population and commerce of this town have rapidly
increased, its moral and municipal discipline is on the decline; and it is
their opinion that without an entire reformation of the police at the town it
may become very questionable whether even property itself may not become
deteriorated to a ruinous extent; and they have but too much reason to
apprehend the workings of a system of fraud on the one hand and negligence and
extravagant on the other.”
On the grant of a charter
of incorporation in 1847, a properly organised police force, with a responsible
head, was established under Mr William Leveratt, and
the full strength of it was 65. Mr Leveratt was
succeeded by Mr F W Grantham of Leeds in 1859, and he remained at the head of
the force until 1874, when Mr. James Withers was appointed. He was succeeded by
Mr C J Paul in 1894, who was pensioned in 1898, and Mr R Ross was appointed.
The strength of the force was increased periodically, due to the increase of
population, until 1899, when the number was increased from 282 to 354, owing to
the expansion of the city boundaries.
The following table shows a
most gratifying improvement in the conduct of the police force during the past
35 years, and I think I may fairly claim that at the present time the moral
tone of the force is good and that the efficiency is excellent:
Five years ending Percentage of offenders reported to watch
committee
1870 – 15.44
1875 – 16.10
1880 – 10.83
1885 – 6.51
1890 - 4.93
1895 - 3.90
1900 - 2.97.
The authorised strength of
the force on 31st December, 1900, was 554. The average age is 39 ½ years:
height 5 foot 10 ½ inches; and length of service nine years and three months.
The variations during the year were as follows: - 1 Sergeant and 12 constables
resigned voluntarily, 6 constables resigned compulsory, 3 constables were
dismissed, 1 Sergeant died, 1 constable absconded, and 1 Superintendent, 1
inspector, 2 sergeants and 4 constables were pensioned. The chief Constable, Mr
R Ross, was appointed Chief Constable of Edinburgh.
In addition to 10 army
reservists (constables in this force) who were called up for active service in
South Africa in 1899, I have been called upon during the past year, thus making
a total of 11. I'm glad to say that up to the present time only 1 man has been
wounded, and in that case not seriously. There are 249 members of the force who
hold the St. Johns Ambulance Association certificates; 43 of that number having
gained the medallion. It is my attention to form a class without delay for
interacting in this useful and very necessary work whose members do not hold
certificates. First aid to the injured was rendered on 69 occasions, 8 being
cases of fractures, 32 wounding, 19 fits, 3 burns, one poisoning, and five of
other injuries.
The number of crimes
committed during the year, known to the police, amounted to 747, an increase
compared with the previous year of 156. For those offences 473 persons were
arrested and 16 proceeded against by summons, 419 were males and 70 females. The
number of robberies perpetrated was 539; the value of the property stolen being
£4016 18s 6d, and the property recovered pounds £165 39s 1d. Comparing these
figures with those of last year, it appears that there is an extraordinary
increase in the value of property stolen; this is not the result of an increase
in crime, but is owing to the fact that the value of the property stolen in
four of the robberies exceeded the total stolen in the 1899, amounting to
£1,685. Of this amount £1,450 was covered by insurance and only entailed the
loss upon the owners of £235. In order to show that the work of the detective
department has not been inferior to that of other years, by deducting the
proceeds of these four robberies, £1685, from the total sum stolen, £4016, it
will be seen the percentage of the property recovered is raised from 41.1 to
76.84, an actual increase upon the previous year. This percentage of detected
robberies is 65.29.
The total number of persons
preceded against four non indictable offences was 3,782, being in comparison
with the previous year, a decrease of 180. Of these 2,357 were males and 845
female; 1,799 were preceded against by arrest, and 1,903 by summons; 1935 were
convicted, and 1,418 discharged, 962 of that number being discharged on payment
of costs, 11 committed to industrial schools, and 123 otherwise dealt with.
For drunkenness 463 males
were preceded against, together with 178 females - a total of 641. Of this
number 228 were fined or committed to gaol, 412 were discharged, 340 of this
number being discharged on payment of costs, and one case withdrawn. Compared
with the average number of cases proceeded against during the past five years,
this shows an increase of 195.
Of keys 327 sets were
deposited at the police office, the sum of pounds £325 11s 8d being received
for rent. 645 lost children were taken charge of by the police, and
subsequently restored to their parents. The number of premises found insecure
during the year was 2,039. A notice was served upon the occupiers of the
premises in all cases, requesting that more care should be taken when securing
them. During the year 7 orders were made to keep dogs under proper control, and
three to destroy dogs. Altogether 518 dogs were destroyed by the police during
the year.
The Halifax Evening Courier, 4
April 1901: CHIEF
CONSTABLE FARNDALE AND THE MAGISTRATES. Something of a divergence of
sentiment between the magisterial bench and the chief of the police force arose
in Bradford City Police Court yesterday. The magistrates dismissed a charge of
selling drink during prohibited hours. Thereupon Chief Constable Farndale requested
to be informed of their reasons for so deciding; and added the noteworthy
remarks that he had a right to know, in order that he might deal with his men,
and that if the bench did not believe his officers he should have to punish
them. The magistrates declined to state any reasons, but added the case was a
proper one to bring before the court.
The Yorkshire Evening Post, 4
April 1901:
THE BRADFORD CHIEF CONSTABLE AND THE BENCH. The Chief Constable of Bradford was
clearly trifling with the dignity and authority at the magistrates yesterday
when he demanded reasons for the dismissal of a prosecution against a local
licenced victualler. The grounds on which this official felt justified in
preferring his demand are remarkable. “If you do not,” he said, “believe my
officers, I must necessarily inflict some punishment on them.” Are we to
understand, then, that the Chief Constable rewards or punishes the members of
his force according to the measure of success or the extent of the failure
which attend their prosecutions in the police court? Of course, Mr Farndale,
cannot have intended that this construction should be placed upon his remark,
but it is inevitable all the same. It is needless, of course, to explain that
the dismissal of a case does not necessarily imply the censure on the
prosecution or justify a charge of perjury being laid against the police
officers concerning it. Many reasons enter into a final judgement at the Bench,
and we're glad to see, if only for the officers say sake, that the Bradford
justices yesterday made it clear that they thought the case in question was a
proper one for investigation. Whether this was on so or not, it would never
do to admit the Chief Constable's right when acting as a prosecuting counsel to
cross examining the magistrates as to the reason lying at the back of any
decision they may come to. Such a demand emanating from the other side
would properly be regarded impertinence, and, in the interests of justice cover
it is right and necessary to avoid the very appearance of partiality.
Joseph Farndale was already looking splendid in
his mounted pose. The Bradford Daily Telegraph, 26 April 1901: ACCIDENT TO A MOUNTED
POLICE OFFICER. The inspection of the Bradford City Police Force afternoon at
Manningham park was quite a smart and interesting event. Beautiful spring
weather prevailed, and the park looked well. The green on the left hand side of
the main carriage drive had been staked off for the occasion by a number of
flags, and shortly after two c’clock the men of the
force were marshalled in various sections fronting the main road. The
constables were paraded pending the arrival of the Government Inspector by
Sergeant Brown (Drill instructor to the force). All told they numbered over 300
men. This included 25 sergeants, 13 inspectors, and superintendents Blenkinsop,
Ackroyd, Bogart, White, and Thompson. Both officers and men were in full
uniform, and presented an imposing appearance. Exceptional pains had been taken
to thoroughly clean all the metal facings, and the citizens of Bradford have
reason to be proud of the smart body of men whose duty it is to patrol the
streets of this city and to protect our lives and belongings. A detachment of
mounted police, in charge of inspector Mattocks, was a feature of the
proceedings, and the detective staff, under the command of Chief Inspector Abbey,
were attired in smart civilian dress and wearing silk hats. The Chief
Constable, Mr Farndale, was the most conspicuous feature of the assembly. He
was mounted on a spirited steed, and was dressed in an attractive uniform, with
a glittering sword hanging by his side. His chapeau was surmounted by plumes.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
14 May 1901:
FIXING BAIL – POWERS OF A CHIEF CONSTABLE. At the City Police Court today Mr
Joseph Farndale, Chief Constable, referred to a case where a man had been
stabbed in the shoulder by a penknife. He said it was reported in the
papers that he had no authority for fixing bail in the case. He asserted that
he had ample authority. The Stipendiary Magistrate (Mr Skidmore): Not in a
serious case. Mr Farndale: I mean to a case of petty misdemeanour. In reply to
Mr Skidmore the Chief Constable said the time of grating bail was on Saturday,
he could not say exactly when. He then proceeded to quote authority, saying
he had the right to fix bail as he did not consider the case a serious one.
He could exercise his discretion. The Stipendiary Magistrate, after consulting
the charge in the case, said it was a felony in which no bail should have been
taken without a magistrate’s authority. He was not blaming the Chief Constable
if it was irregular. Any magistrate would have fixed bail. There were 68
magistrates in Bradford. The matter then dropped.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
24 May 1901: A
BAD HOUSE. CHARGE AGAINST A BRADFORD WOMAN. At the City Court today before
the Stipendiary (Mr Skidmore) and other magistrates, **, respectably dressed
woman, twenty four years of age, of *, was charged with keeping her house as a
brothel … The Chief Constable (Mr Joseph Farndale) said that the prisoner
had kept this house as a brothel since May last year. The police had
received numerous complaints with regard to the conduct of the house, and the
later had recently been under police supervision. Recently a number of men
employed at a local show had frequently visited the prisoner. There was o drink found on the premises. … A fine of £5 and 8s costs
was imposed with an alternative of one month’s imprisonment with hard labour.
In 1901, Joseph Farndale became involved in a number of cases of
fortune tellers ripping off their clients. The Bradford Observer, 6 June 1901:
FORTUNE TELLING IN BRADFORD.
STRANGE STORY FROM KNARESBOROUGH.
A curious case of fortune
telling came before Mr Skidmore (Stipendiary Magistrate) … on the evening
of May 25th he was visited at his house by two of the police matrons
…
According to the evidence of
the former, the defendant’s first device was to fold two pieces of paper
into the form of diamonds, after which he asked the visitors when and
where they were born. Mr Skidmore: That is a very dangerous question to
ask a lady; I hope you didn’t tell him (laughter). Continuing the witness
said that the defendant wrote the information on the diamond formed papers, and
then retired saying he was going to meditate as to what planet or planets the
visitors were born under. After an absence of about ten minutes, he returned
with the information that witness was born under Venus (laughter). He
predicted for witness a lot of trouble and sickness this year, but said
there would be a change for the better next year. She would he added do well as
a lodging house keeper, and he warned her against taking a voyage on the water
until next year; this year there was an evil aspect over her (laughter). Had
the hour of her call been midnight he would have predicted a voyage abroad next
year. He advised her to transact all her important business on the Thursday
directly following a new moon. He told her that she would have two offers of
marriage during the next year – one from a single man and one from a
widower (laughter). Mr Skidmore: Is the defendant a widower? (renewed laughter). The witness said she paid the defendant 1s 6d
for telling her fortune. The defendant told her if she preferred to have it
written down it would cost 2s 6d.
In cross examination the
defendant complained that the callers had given wrong names.
Mr Skidmore: That doesn’t
matter; they were told a great many things at your house that were wrong.
Defendant: I didn’t send for
them.
Mr Skidmore: Nobody says you
did.
Defendant: I haven’t been
doing much business during the last three or four years due to my health.
Mr Skidmore: And you will do
less after today.
Ellen Whitehouse, a married
woman, corroborated the testimony of the first witness. The defendant predicted
for her two offers of marriage (laughter).
Detective Haigh said he had
made inquiries as to the defendant’s antecedents. He had ascertained that
the defendant had drawn considerably over £1,000 from a gentleman in
Knaresborough in this kind of business – driving away the evil aspect
(laughter). He had been carrying on in this way for sixteen years. Mr Skidmore:
I shouldn’t have thought there was so much money in Knaresborough. Detective
Haigh: The gentleman there has ow become seriously ill, and the doctor says it
is all due to this man bothering him. He is nearly seventy years of age.
In reply to Mr Skidmore, the
Chief Constable (Mr Farndale) aid there was no previous conviction against the
defendant for this kind of offence, but he had been fined for assaulting his
wife. He had been carrying on business for twenty years in Bradford and called
himself a herbalist.
Defendant (to the
detective): I haven’t drawn over £1000 from that man.
Detective Haigh: You have
had £1 a week from him for over twenty years.
Defendant: No, I haven’t had
10s.
Mr Skidmore: You ought not
to have had 10d.
Detective Haigh: He has gone
down to this gentleman’s house regularly about once a week, ad has spent the
night in boiling down beats’ hearts and putting it into ginger beer bottles to
drive the evil spirits away. He would spend the night in this way and leave
next morning.
Mr Skidmore: I see, a sort
of incantation (laughter).
The Chief Constable said the
visitors to the defendant’s house were not confined to any particular class.
This Knaresborough business had been put to an end.
Mr Skidmore (to the defendant):
You are a rogue and a vagabond. That is what the law calls you. If you
had been convicted before you would have been sent to prison for a long term
without the option of a fine. There is no doubt that you have been carrying on
this business and imposing upon His Majesty’s subjects for a long period of
time. You will be fined £10 and 12s costs, or six weeks imprisonment.
The Bradford Observer, 20 June
1901: At
Bradford City Police Court * was charged with stealing a pair of bathing
drawers, value 6d, the property of the Bradford Corporation. The
Chief Constable (Mr J Farndale) remarked that no fewer than 100 pairs of
drawers had disappeared from one of the baths within the last six weeks.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
28 June 1901: ROBERT’S
NEW UNIFORM. INSPECTION BY THE WATCH COMMITTEE. This afternoon the annual
inspection of the City Police new clothing took place before the Bradford
Watch Committee at the Belle Vue Barracks, Manningham Lane. Upwards of 300
officers and men were drawn up on parade under Chief Constable Joseph Farndale
…
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
21 August 1901:
DAY BY DAY. The report presented by the Chief Constable, Mr Joseph Farndale,
at the annual Brewster Sessions for the city, held today, contains several
favourable features. Taken all round the holders of licences in the city have
conducted their houses well, and the returns as to drunkenness in Bradford
compare favourably with those published for other large towns. According to the
report 2.01%, per thousand population were preceded against, as compared with
4.16% at Leeds, and 3.39 at Sheffield. The figures relating to Bradford, in
fact, are the lowest returns from eight of the largest towns of the country.
The Bradford Observer, 21
August 1901: At
the Bradford City Police Court yesterday – before ... Patrick Gorman, 18,
millhand of 10 Grafton Street and William Redmond, 17, labour, of 21 Duncan
Street were charged with breaking and entering the premises of number
131 East Parade, occupied by the Board and Case Makers’ Club, and stealing
therefrom 6s 2d in cash and quantity of tobacco and cigarettes. The Chief
Constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, stated that the premises were discovered on
Monday to have been broken into, and the prisoners were found inside with the
stolen property and money in their possession. The prisoners were ordered to
take their trial at the next quarter sessions.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
16 October 1901:
POLICE ORPHANAGE AND HOME. MEETING IN BRADFORD. This afternoon Mrs Boyd
Carpenter addressed a drawing room meeting in the Council Chamber of the
Bradford Town Hall, on behalf of the Northern Police Orphanage and Police
Convalescent Home. The Mayor presided over a very influential gathering, and
there were present the Mayoress, Mr E P Arnold-Foster, Chief Constable
Farndale, and Mr Hankinson, the deputy town clerk. The Mayor in the course of a
brief introductory speech, said that the necessity for the extension of the
upper sphere of the home's usefulness seemed most evident and pressing...
With regard to his uncle, (also Joseph Farndale (FAR00350B))’s
death: The Birmingham Mail, 23
October 1901: At
a meeting of the Watch Committee today, a letter was read from Mr J Farndale,
Chief Constable at Bradford, thanking the committee for the resolution of
condolence in respect to the death of the late Mr Joseph Farndale.
In November 1901, the police had to deal with a
dodgy bookmaker. The Liverpool Evening Express, 30 November 1901: THE ARREST OF A
BRADFORD BOOKMAKER. REMARKABLE STORY OF ‘KELLY’S LUCK’. Since Saturday last it
has been known in Bradford that the police had suspicions of the dealings of a
local sporting man, and careful inquiries narrowed the suspect down to Mr.
Kelly, who resides at Tennyson Place, off Otley road. He is of Irish descent
and a Roman Catholic. He cannot be much more than 30 to 35 years old, and his
unmarried. No man has loomed larger on the sporting side of Bradford life for
some years past, and the stories of his turf winnings during the last two years
have not lacked either in detail or in breath. He is he has been alleged to
have one thousands upon thousands of pounds, £20,000 here, £10,000 there; Scarcely
a big meeting having passed without some “personally authenticated” story of
“Kelly's luck” being wafted Bradfordwards.... Kelly attended the Manchester November
meeting on Saturday last, and we believe, shortly after leaving the course was
met by Liverpool, London and Bradford detectives. It had come to the knowledge
of the Liverpool police, through a search of Goudie’s rooms, that the
absconding bank clerk had had heavy betting transactions with, or through,
Kelly. Kelly says ‘through’ him. However the police thought there was
sufficient to justify them in asking him for an explanation. This he was by no
means willing to give, in fact, he courted investigations in the frankest
fashion, whilst at the same time stating that what money had come through his
hands from Goudie, who used a false name in transactions, had been accepted in
legitimate fashion, and without any suspicion of the bona fides of the
principal. However he was unable to give details at Manchester, and the
detectives travelled with him to Bradford. Here he laid before them at his
house an account of his transactions, together with telegrams, memoranda, and
books relating thereto. At a subsequent interview at the town hall with the
Chief Constable he promised to give all possible assistance, and his
behaviour throughout his apparently been characterised by straightforwardness.
He made no attempt to leave the town and was seen about there up to and
including Thursday morning. It is believed that Mr Kelly, acting on legal
advice, travelled to London on Thursday morning with the intention of
surrendering to the police and meeting any charges that might be made against
him, should any warrant be issued against him. A Bradford solicitor who is
popularly supposed to have been advising him, certainly travelled to London
that day. By a coincidence, on Thursday the Bradford chief constable, Mr J
Farndale, received telegraphic instructions from Scotland Yard to arrest Kelly.
It was then found that he had gone to London and last evening a further telegram
was received stating that he had been arrested in London. The specific charge
against him is that of ‘uttering forged bankers cheques well knowing that …
etc’. No detail of the charge has been allowed to transpire, but it is believed
that Kelly paid into his account at Bradford one or more of the forged cheques
which Goudie is alleged to have been instrumental in issuing - these being duly
honoured. The sum mentioned in connection with the case is £30,000, but here
again rumour has more to say that any traceable fact. The friends of Kelly say
that these cheques, or cheque as the case may be, were received in pursuit of
legitimate transactions, and this, it is obvious, will be the line of his
defence...
The Leeds Mercury, 19 December
1901: FIREWORKS
IN A BEDROOM. A dangerous practise was brought to light in a case heard at
Bradford City court yesterday. Ezra Wilkinson, of Town Gate, Wyke, was charged
with keeping 24 pounds of explosives in excess of the quantity permitted.
The Chief Constable, Mr Farndale, said the case was serious, because the
defendant had the explosives, which were fireworks, stored in a bedroom where
boys were sleeping. The defendant, who said he did not know that he was
committing any offence, was fined £2 13s 6d and 8s costs.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
30 December 1901:
In the opinion of one who ought to know there have been fewer cases of
drunkenness in Bradford during the Christmas holidays this year than in other
years. On the whole the streets have been kept fairly orderly, and great credit
is due to the city police for their conduct in the matter. There has been too a
complete absence of crime of a serious nature. This may be accounted for by the
strict vigilance kept by the police on old offenders. The present chief constable,
Mr Joseph Farndale, has taken full advantage of the Prevention of Crimes
Act, by
which act it is possible to send a man to prison for 12 months with hard
labour on a charge of suspicious loitering, providing he has a bad character.
This measure, judicially used, seems to be a powerful check on habitual
criminality.
1902
The Leeds Mercury, 6 January
1902: Bradford
Watch Committee recommend that the salary of the Chief Constable (Mr
Farndale) be increased from £500 to £600 per annum, and that by increases
of £50 a year it should advance to a maximum of £800 per annum.
In 1902, Joseph Farndale became involved in a
moral crusade against music licences for the “Singing ‘oils” of Bradford. The Yorkshire Evening Post, 21 January 1902: THE
BRADFORD CRUSADE AGAINST MUSIC LICENCES. POPULAR ‘SINGING ‘OILS’. ARGUMENTS FOR
AND AGAINST THEM. THE LANDLORDS’ CASE IN THE IMPENDING BATTLE. Transplant the
average Midland “man about town” on a Saturday night or a bank holiday night,
into any of the larger Yorkshire centres of population, and the first feature
of “about town” life which would strike him would be the public house “singing
‘oil” or free and easy, for he knows none such. The present writer's first
introduction to one was in 1893, at Sheffield, and the recollection of its
melodiousness, its rowdiness, its rudimentary harmony, and its flood of ale, is
yet with him. An atmosphere reeking with bad tobacco, a room crowded with men
and women, in whom the “wine” with more than mellow, sloppy tables, sloppy
songs, vigorous applause, and vigorous language, that is the sum and
substance of the recollection. Since those days the Yorkshire singing ‘oil
has somewhat improved but its main features remained the same on that night of
all nights for alcoholic enjoyment - Saturday night. There is a little more
outward seeming decency, and Bradford, Leeds, Sheffield... These recollections
and reflections are prompted by the recent action of the Bradford chief
constable, Mr Joseph Farndale. In Bradford there are 618 hotels and public
houses; 368 of these have music licences, and 37 other places have similar
licences. Altogether 405 music licences are held in the city. These are two
fully fledged musicals, two theatres, and St. Georges hall and the mechanics
institute to contribute to the legitimate amusement of the week in week out. In
addition 10 or a dozen public houses in the centre of the city run singing
‘oils, some with the concomitant dignity of a regular playbill, some with
millie a scratch selection of paid or amateur talent …
The Yorkshire Evening Post, 30
January 1902: THE
SINGING ROOMS OF BRADFORD CRUSADE CONTINUED. THE CHIEF CONSTABLE’S ‘FRESH
IDEAS’. The crusade of the Bradford chief constable against music licences
was resumed at Bradford police court today, before the licencing boards bench,
Mr S P Myers presiding. The interest in the proceedings has greatly subsided
after the refusal at yesterday's sitting to renew the licence of the Granby
hotel one of the best known “singing ‘oils” in the city. At the outset Mr A
Neal said that after duly considering the matter he had decided to ask
permission to state a case with a view to an appeal against the decisions in
regard to the Roebuck Inn in and the Granby. He would hand in the conditions of
the appeal. The appeal was based mainly on the chief constable's third ground
of objection, referring to the breach of the conditions of the licence. The
chairman assented to the course being taken. Alan Boocock, the landlord,
applied for the renewal of this licence, which was objected to by the chief
constable on the grounds that it was structurally unfit and that it was
frequented by people of loose character. Sergeant Thornton gave evidence in
support. He was detailing an incident he saw in October when Mr Neil observed, sotte voce, “Oh, go to church”. The chief constable: “I
shan't go to church. I am here to do my duty. There is no sentiment about
me”. The examination preceded....
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
30 January 1902:
BRADFORD MUSIC LICENCES. MUMEROUS OBJECTIONS SUSTAINED. The Bradford
licencing magistrates were occupied for many hours yesterday in hearing arguments
and evidence for and against the granting of new music licences... To which
the chief constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, had notified objection …
The Leeds Mercury, 30 January
1902: the
Bradford licencing justices have made a noticeable reduction in the number
of music licences. Certainly the evidence tended by the chief constable in
many instances seemed conclusive of the contention of “no necessity” or else
that the concert room had not been well conducted. Mr Neil set up an ingenious
plea that Bradford people would have music, and he asked the
magistrates to believe that the songs were of an elevating character. Now
we're rather surprised that no police evidence was given as to the nature of
the songs sung at these establishments. We rather fancy that there would have
been some setoffs to “The heavenly city”, “Daddy”, and “The last chord.” The
statistics of the music halls presented by Mr Farndale showed indisputably that
Bradford has an enormous excess of these places, and that licences must
have at one time been granted without the slightest reservation. The action or
policy of the licencing justices will, we think, meet general approval. During
the coming year no doubt the chief constable will take care to note whether the
houses which have been continued are maintained on the high moral plane which
Mr Neil himself claims should guarantee their existence.
The East Kent Times and Mail,
12 March 1902: THE
CHIEF CONSTABLE OF BRADFORD, Mr J Farndale, formerly chief of police of
Margate, has been presented with a gold watch by the subordinate members of the
Bradford force, in recognition of his successful endeavours to make the
policeman’s lot a happy one.
Sergeant: When a felon's
not engaged in his employment
Police: His employment,
Sergeant: Or maturing his
felonious little plans
Police: Little plans,
Sergeant: His capacity for
innocent enjoyment
Police: 'Cent enjoyment
Sergeant: Is just as great
as any honest man's
Police: Honest man's.
Sergeant: Our feelings we
with difficulty smother
Police: 'Culty smother,
Sergeant: When
constabulary duty's to be done
Police: To be done
Sergeant: Ah, take one
consideration with another
Police: With another,
Sergeant: A policeman's
lot is not a happy one
Police: Ah!
Sergeant & Police:
When constabulary duty's to be done, to be done,
A policeman's lot is not a
happy one, happy one
Sergeant: When the
enterprising burglar's not a-burgling
Police: Not a-burgling:
Sergeant: When the cut-throat
isn't occupied in crime
Police: 'Pied in crime,
Sergeant: He loves to hear
the little brook a-gurgling
Police: Brook a-gurgling,
Sergeant: And listen to
the merry village chime
Police: Village chime
Sergeant: When the coster's finished jumping on his mother
Police: On his mother,
Sergeant: He loves to lie
a-basking in the sun
Police: In the sun
Sergeant: Ah, take one
consideration with another
Police: With another,
Sergeant: A policeman's
lot is not a happy one
Police: Ah!
Sergeant & Police: When
constabulary duty's to be done, to be done,
A policeman's lot is not a
happy one, happy one.
(The Pirates of Penzance,
Gilbert & Sullivan, 1880)
The problem of fortune teller ‘scams’ returned in
1902.
The Yorkshire
Evening Post, 21 March 1902: £300 A YEAR BY TELLING FRTUNES. COPUNSEL APPEARS FOR THE
‘OCCULTISTS LEAGUE’. BRADFORD GIRL’S ANXIETY TO LOOK INTO THE FUTURE. A well
dressed and somewhat handsome woman named Mrs Annis Wood, of 7 Nelson Square,
Bradford, was before the Bradfords Stipendiary, Mr C Skidmore, this morning on two
charges of unlawfully telling fortunes. The chief constable, Mr. J
Farndale, said that the prosecution was under the Vagrancy Act of 1824. Defendant had lived at the
address named for three years, and her visitors numbered sometimes 100 a day.
They were principally ladies, who called to have their fortunes told. Defendant
looked at the her clients’ hands and then pretended to tell them something
about their future. After that she took their handkerchief, rolled it into
a ball, and preceded with her story. They then paid a fee of a shilling or so,
the amount varying according to the client's circumstances. Mrs Annie Ledger,
of 39 Alexander St, said that on Friday, February 28, she visited the
defendant's house, and arranged to call again on the following Thursday. She
went at three o’clock, and arranged to call again at four o’clock. Defendant
answered the door, and showed her into a room where there were five other
ladies. These took their turns to visit Mrs Wood in another room, and witness,
who had taken her wedding ring off, was the last but one. Witness said the
defendant told her she was a single woman. The Stipendiary: “A very bad shot”.
Witness: “She said I should not be engaged for a very long time. She then asked
me if I knew a dark man with eyes darker than my own who had not been true to
me? Then she asked if I knew another darker than her? I said no. She said he
thought the world of me (laughter) and that I knew it. I told her I did not
know that.” Then she said I was not really strong, that I should have a lot of
sickness, but nothing dangerous. She gave a prescription, one ounce of Epsom
salts, an ounce of magnesium, and announce of essence of peppermint. The
Stipendiary: “That is what they call a love powder”. (Laughter). Witness,
proceeding, said , “Then she said there would be two deaths in the family. I
should not bother about one, but for the other I should have to go into a very
deep mourning. The last death was to bring me some money. She asked me for my
handkerchief, which she rolled up. She next told me that a married man thought
more about me than he did about his wife, and there was no love between them.
(Laughter). She said that if I was not careful it would be a law case. The man
would go in for a divorce, and marry me at once if I was agreeable. She said I
should have a very successful year. I should have money, and things would be
brighter all around. I asked her fee, and she said 1s 6d. I put two single
shillings down, and she took one and returned the other.” Witness added that
she went at the instigation of the police. Cross examined by Mr Earnshaw,
barrister, who appeared for the defendant,: “There was no pressure put upon me
by the defendant. She did not know whether Mrs Wood advertised. She made a note
of the proceedings when she got home. The Stipendiary: “If this is true it is
an offence”. Mr Earnshaw submitted it was not a case of fortune telling. There
was no intention to impose upon people. Palmistry was not illegal, and was
not fortune telling. The act had been framed for the protection of people
against gypsies. This was not an offence under the Act. The Stipendiary held
that if the witness’s story was true an offence had been proved. Mr Earnshaw
put his client into the box. Mrs Wood said that she had been engaged in
clairvoyance for nine years, and in palmistry for four years. Mr Earnshaw, “How
do you know you have the power of clairvoyance?” Defendant: “It is only in
born”. Defendant added that before she took money she advised friends and
neighbours gratuitously. People paid her what they thought fit. She remembered
Mrs Ledger coming. She took her hands and read the lines. “They were very fine
lines,” said the defendant in an impressive voice and with a theatrical air. “I
said,” Defendant went on “you are a married lady.” she said “No”. I said “Be
truthful to me and I will be truthful to you.” I said “you certainly know a
gentleman that works at a large building within 3 minutes of the railway
station. The gentleman before long will have an improvement in his position.”
Defendant added that in the course of her career she had been consulted by a
large number of people, about 25 a day, but not 100. Stipendiary: “A very nice
way of getting a living. It is much easier than mine”. (Laughter). Defendant:
“I only work four days a week. It is not true that I receive fees of a
sovereign or even half a sovereign. I have had girls visit me of 18 years of
age, but none younger. Mr Earnshaw: “Have you done it in the hope of reward?”
Defendant: “A clergyman gets reward”. The chief constable, in answer to the
Stipendiary, said that they estimated the Defendant was making £300 a year. She
had plenty of clients, including carriage people. She told things to young
girls which had caused stress in many respectable Bradford homes. He asked
for the law to be enforced. Stipendiary: “If you come here again and the
offences proved you will be sent to gaol. This morning I shall find you find
you pounds £25 and 12 S costs, or one month. The chief constable was proceeding
to examine his witness in the second case when Mr Earnshaw pleaded guilty. He
asked for time in which to pay the fine. The Stipendiary: “I am pleased to see
she can engage counsel”. Mr Earnshaw: “I am engaged by the Occultist's
League, and not by Mrs wood. On the second charge a fine of £10 and 12s
costs, or 21 days was imposed. The chief constable objected to allowing the
defendant time to pay under the circumstances.
The Sheffield Evening
Telegraph, 22 March 1902: A LADY PALMIST’S SNUG INCOME. HEAVY PENALTIES. At Bradford
yesterday, a well dressed woman named Mrs Annis Wood,
of Nelson 7 Nelson Square, Bradford, was heavily fined for telling fortunes....
Mr Earnshaw, barrister, who appeared for the accused, submitted that palmistry
was not illegal. The Vagrancy Act of 1824 under which the present prosecution
was laid was not meant to apply to cases like the present one, but was framed
more for the protection of the public against gypsies. The chief constable, Mr
Farndale, said that the defendant had had as many as 100 visitors a day,
including carriage people....
The Yorkshire evening Post,
6 June 1902: At Bradford yesterday
the Chief Constable (Mr Joseph Farndale) stated that a police officer was
never off duty until he left the service.
No extra hours were allowed in 1902 in Bradford for the Coronation,
even though Joseph did not object. The Yorkshire Evening Post, 20 June 1902: CORONATION EXTRA
HOURS. A REFUSAL AT BRADFORD. OX ROASTING FUNCTION AT IDLE.
VILLAGENEAR WAKEFIELD NOT TO CELEBRATE TILL JULY 5. A special sitting of the Bradford
licencing bench, Mr. J Godwin presiding, was held this morning at the town hall
to consider the application of Mr. A Neil, on behalf of the licenced victors,
for an hour extension, eleven o’clock to twelve midnight, on the nights of June
26th and 27th. Mr Newell appeared on behalf of the beer sellers. The chief
constable, Mr. J Farndale, said he had no objection to the application.
He was told that the Diamond Jubilee the police had had no cause of complaint. The
Bench refused to grant any extension. Mr Neil also applied for an all night extension at the New Inn, Idle, stating that an
ox was to be roasted in front of the hotel. The Bench refused the application.
However the baccarat players were not tolerated. The Yorkshire Evening Post, 11
July 1902:
BACCARAT AN UNLAWFUL GAME. … The Chief Constable (Mr J Farndale)
contended that baccarat was an unlawful game wherever it was played
… The Stipendiary (Mr C Skidmore) found that, firstly, the club was a bona fide
club; secondly,. That baccarat was an unlawful game as habitually played there,
and, thirdly, the club was kept for two purposes – social and gambling, and
that constituted a common gaming house …
The folk of Bradford behaved well for the King’s Coronation. The Bradford Daily Telegraph.
15 July 1902: After
the holiday for the new King’s coronation: Chief Constable Farndale expressed
himself highly pleased with the conduct of the people yesterday and
assures us that the police were given every assistance. To use his own words:
“It was a good natured and thoroughly well-behaved crowd.” The streets were
certainly well kept yesterday by the force.
The Shields Daily Gazette,
27 September 1902:
POLICEMAN’S EVIDENCE
At Bradford yesterday the
magistrates dismissed a charge brought against a Cleckheaton labourer. The
evidence was contradictory and the Bench decided not to convict.
The Chief Constable (Mr J
Farndale): Then, I am to understand you do not believe my officer?
The Chairman: I don’t
like your way of putting the question. I am sure it is far from us to
accuse your officer of speaking an untruth. It is possible he has got a
mistaken idea.
The Chief Constable: Well,
sir, I must do my duty. If I put men into the box whom you cannot believe then
I must endeavour to rid the city of them.
The Chairman: There is a want
of corroboration on both sides.
The Chief Constable: I am
not complaining because you have discharged the prisoner. I am concerned as to
the truthfulness of my officers.
The Chairman: We do not feel
justified in convicting. That is all.
The matter then dropped.
1903
The Yorkshire Evening Post, 17
February 1903:
In an article about the Halifax police force: … Several men who have, or are
still, filling chief constableships in other towns received their training
under Mr Pole. A notable example is the present Chief Constable of Bradford (Mr
J Farndale), Mr Farndale joined the Halifax borough force as a constable, and
left with the rank of detective inspector, when he was appointed Chief
Constable of Margate.
There was a Pen Portrait of Joseph Farndale in
the Bradford
Weekly Telegraph, Saturday 2 May 1903:
“THE CHIEF”
“TELEGRAPH” PEN PORTRAIT
It may be either fortunate
or unfortunate to know Mr farndale, the gentleman who sits at the Town Hall as Chief
Presenter of crime in the city of Bradford. If he is your friend, you will
find him what the gamins call “OK”, but if you happen to come within the
clutches of his myrmidons of the law you would be less appreciative, perhaps,
of this man and his office. The chief constable has not been with us very long,
but he has gained the respect of the law abiding citizens by his courtesy. He is
not too big a man to oblige. We have known chief constables with a good deal
fewer than 300 policemen at their beck and call who fancied all the powers of
earth and heaven were committed to their charge. The swelling importance of
such men is not pleasant to behold. Mr Farndale does not presume upon the
dignity of his position, nor carry out his office despoticly
in any way. He is rather of a modest and retiring disposition than otherwise
and does not have thirst to fill the public eye. We have known some very
autocratic chief constables. They used to exercise their functions mainly in
county divisions and in the old days of quarter sessions. They were very
great men in those days, and all chief constables were great men. The
growth of democracy and the rise of county councils has reduced the awful state
of the chiefs of police. They, for the most part, now do their duty like
ordinary men. There was one of these personages in our youth who rejoiced in
the dubious nickname, when in the army, of “Hellfire Jack”, and who as chief of
police chastened public offenders in the street with a thick oaken stick, and
who used to sit besides the magistrates on the bench
and help the magistrates to administer the law.
Now we lay stress on the
contrast between the old theology, beg pardon, the old style of chief
constable, and the new. Mr Farndale is of the new model. His ideal is
that the police should serve the people with civility and fidelity, and
that perfect confidence should prevail between the force and the public. No man
was more deeply hurt than he at the discredit thrown upon the Constabulary a
few months back by the irregularities. Good relations exist between the
chief constable hand and his men, and while strict he is no martinet. The
consequences that we believe are force is an improvement on what it was a
few years back. Mr Farndale having risen from the ranks, knows the whole
round of a policeman's duties, and he judges his men with the eye of
knowledge. The consequence is that the men had full faith in their chief, and
tried to serve him well accordingly.
Mr Farndale is a quiet, dark
man, who rules his men firmly, who tries to bring about obedience to the law, and yet is not
guilty of straining the law against the accused person. As a rule a
policeman acquires a certain amount of bias in the pursuit of his calling,
and is not sufficiently inclined to give the prisoner the benefit of the doubt.
We have seen no excessive straining after convictions on the part of Mr
Farndale, and this is the more noteworthy as he has a police ancestry.
Mr Farndale was born at
Wakefield in 1864, and is the nephew of Mr Joseph Farndale, the late distinguished
chief constable Birmingham. He was educated at Field House Academy, Aberford,
and was, early in life, apprenticed to a chemist. Chemistry, however,
had no attraction to him. Becoming imbued with an ambition to make his mark
in police and detective work, he joined the Halifax police force at the age
of 20 as an ordinary constable. For 10 years he was connected with that force,
during which time he worked his way successfully through the different
grades of Constable, Detective Constable, Sergeant, Inspector, Chief Clerk, and
Detective Inspector. In 1893, when second in command of the Halifax
police force, Mr Farndale was appointed chief constable of Margate,
which position he filled with marked success until 1897, when he was appointed
chief constable of York. From there he came to Bradford,
succeeding Mr Roderick Ross as chief constable in 1900.
During the three years he
has been in Bradford, Mr Farndale has affected many reforms in the police
administration of the city, and now it can truly be said that the force never
was in a more efficient condition. With the example of his uncle before
him, he is an enthusiast in his profession, and it was just that enthusiasm for
his work which led to his rapid promotion in his early days of police service.
Among his many smart pieces of work as a different detective at Halifax was his
arrest of a bank clerk for forgery. The clerk absconded, and with but
the slightest description, Mr Farndale started his pursuit, traced
and followed his man to Littleborough, thence from place to place from Rochdale
to Preston and Saint Helens to near Liverpool, where he ran his quarry to
earth. In the course of his career some thousands of “wanted's”
have passed through his hands, and his keen remembrance of faces once
seen has often led to the arrest of the man wanted even after the lapse of a
considerable time. Himself a smart man, Mr Farndale will tolerate
none but smart men in his force; the sluggard has no sympathy from him,
whereas the man of intelligence and security and is certain sooner or later to
attract his high and receive promotion. Hence it may be that in the minds of
some of his force he is unpopular, but he has the good opinion of the honest
policeman, just as he enjoys the goodwill of the authorities and respectable
portion of the community. Above all, he is a man of principle. His every action
speaks that. From every town and city in which he has laboured Farndale has
brought away some more or less tangible expression of appreciation of his work.
When he went to Margate he found himself confronted with the difficulty of the overcrowding
of passenger steamers. He faced the difficulty with unsparing hand. Some
heavy fines were inflicted, and Mr Farndale today holds a special letter of
thanks from the Board of Trade for the efforts which he made to curtail a
practise which threatened disaster. Similarly the Bradford Temperance Party
and free church council have thanked him publicly for the part paid him
played in bringing about the suppression of the public house music licences.
We cannot conclude this appreciative article without recounting an experience
which he had in his early days at Bradford when he used to parade the
streets at night disguised in order to ascertain for himself whether his men
were doing their duty. Prowling about Westgate in the “wee sma’ hours” he was accosted by a constable, and
peremptorily ordered to “move on or be locked up”. Failing to convince the
constable as to his identity he discreetly “moved on” and we have not heard
since of his zealousness leading him into such methods of supervision.
The Leeds Mercury, 18 June
1903: LANCASHIRE
POLICE v YORKSHIRE POLICE. The Yorkshire Police and Lancashire Police met yesterday
at Park Ave, Bradford for the annual cricket fixture between the Constabulary
of the two counties. Major Tarry, chief constable of Leeds, presided over the
luncheon and there were also present Colonel Nesbitt, Mr G (sic) Farndale...
The Sheffield Daily Telegraph,
18 June 1903: YORKSHIRE
POLICE v LANCASHIRE POLICE. The annual cricket match between Yorkshire and
Lancashire Police was played at Park Avenue yesterday. At the interval there
was a luncheon, at which the Chief Constable of Leeds, presided, and he gave
the toast of “the Northern Police Orphanage and Convalescent Home, Harrogate”.
In doing so he showed that in the three years before last year these matches
had resulted in the handing over of £928 towards the institutions. Last year,
probably on account of the war, it had been impossible to arrange the usual
fixture. The Chief Constable of Bradford, Mr Joseph Farndale, said that it was
not a matter in which chief constables should interfere, but the Northern
District served by the two institutions contained 13,000 policemen; and if
each subscribed a penny a week the two institutions which they designed to
benefit would receive a good income. The match during the afternoon was
brought to an end by incessant rain.
The Bradford Weekly Telegraph,
10 October 1903:
The ceremony of swearing in Bradford special constables took place
before the stipendiary on Wednesday morning, there being some eighty of these
assistant preservers of the peace. Mr Skidmore was, as usual, presented with a
special constable staff, and he must have quite a big collection of these
implements. Some of the “specials” asked Mr Farndale if they could not be given
keepsakes of this kind, and the chief constable replied that in the case of
riot or other necessity he would take care to arm these citizen Roberts. The
last time the specials were called out was at the time of the Manningham mills
trouble.
Joseph Farndale was a pioneer of the new use of fingerprints in
Bradford.
The Bradford
Daily Telegraph, 20 October 1903:
IDENTIFYING CRIMINALS
IMPRESSIONS OF FINGER TIPS
NEW SYSTEM ADOPTED IN
BRADFORD
Interview with the Chief
Constable
The city police authorities
have just adopted the new system of identifying prisoners, and henceforth
Bradford miscreants will be subjected to what is already known as the
fingerprinted process. The old form of identification consisted of taking
measurements, and a record of any marks on the person, together with
photograph, but there were many defects in that system. The measurements were
found to be unreliable and other methods employed were not altogether
satisfactory. Often a great deal of valuable time was wasted in completing
investigations regarding a prisoner's previous convictions, and the methods in
which he carried out his work. The new system of establishing identity by
means of a man's fingerprints appears to be a much more certain and
satisfactory method, and from experiments which have recently been made at
Scotland Yard it appears that there is no possibility of any mistake being
made. Although new to Bradford, the system is by no means a recent invention,
for it has for some time been adopted with very great success in other parts of
the world. In China it has been used for many years with signal success, and in
India it is likewise being utilised very extensively in all branches of the
civil service and Police Department.
In the course of an
interview with a “Telegraph” reporter had yesterday with the chief
constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, that gentleman said that the system was
introduced into Scotland Yard some seven years ago as a means of identifying
criminals of the worst type, and the authorities have so satisfied
themselves with its efficiency that they are encouraging its general adoption.
“It was brought to its present state of great utility,” said the chief
constable, “by Mr Henry, the chief Commissioner of Police. At first it was
confined to specially trained officials at the prisons throughout the country,
but now sanction has been given for impressions to be taken by capable
officers in any police force. Now the impressions are taken and sent by
first post to Scotland Yard, and particulars of the man's identity are
forwarded by the following post”
In answer to a question as
to the advantage of the new over the old system Mr Farndale replied: “In the
old system the only method of identifying a prisoner was to show him or his
photograph to the officer who had actually had him in custody, but in the
new system once a man's impressions are secured they remain at the
headquarters, Scotland Yard, and are always available.”
It is a well
known fact that the impressions of the fingers of different persons are
never like. The lines on the tips are part of his individuality, and, what is
of more importance to the police, do not vary in formation at any period of his
life.
Speaking on this point the
chief constable said: “It is beyond doubt that there are no two sets of
fingerprints identically the same. It has often been said that in the general
design of fingerprints there are no two fingers alike. The system is the most
perfect one. The more you study it the more satisfied you are regarding its
practicability.”
But a work of this
description must be of a complicated nature? interjaculated our representative.
“It would appear so,”
replied the chief constable, £but Mr Henry, of Scotland Yard, has devised a
most remarkable system of classification. It is in the form of a large cabinet,
which already contains the impressions of about 50,000 criminals. These are
classified in such a way that it could be easy for any officer after once
becoming acquainted with the system to go to the cabinet and produce a person’s
impressions in the space of a few seconds.”
The chief constable has
studied the system for a couple of years, and is perfectly satisfied that it is
the best system which has yet been introduced. Last week Detective
Inspector Talbot and Sergeant Nicholson were at Scotland Yard, and these two
officers, under the supervision of the Chief Constable, will have charge of the
new system in Bradford. Already several impressions have been taken and sent to
London, where they have been classified, and the convictions of the prisoner
have been returned.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
14 November 1903:
A general rumour has been going about the city lately to the effect
that our account our Chief Constable, Mr. J Farndale, is a candidate for the
vacancy which has occurred at Hull. The other day, in the course of some
conversation I had with “the chief”, I learned that the report is absolutely
without foundation. Mr Farndale is not likely to leave Bradford. He finds
our city most congenial, and what is more, he is most happy with his men, and
in fact finds much to be proud of in the force of which he is the head.
Joseph Farndale was involved in a furious row with his Detective in
November 1903.
The Sunderland
Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette, 17 November 1903: STRANGE SCENE IN A POLICE COURT. DETECTIVE
AND THE ACCUSED. A strange and somewhat exciting incident occurred in the
Bradford City police court yesterday, whilst the stipendiary magistrate, Mr
Charles Skidmore, was engaged with a case in which a labourer named John
Whelan, of 10 Haworth St, Bradford, charged with loitering in White Abbey Road,
Bradford, with intent to commit a felony. The solicitor whom the prisoner had
retained was unable to be present, and it was therefore decided to remand the
case until today, the stipendiary remarking that Mr Atkinson, the solicitor in
question, was engaged the West Riding police courts, and could not be expected
to be in two places at once. He asked the chief constable, Mr. J Farndale,
whether there was any reason why the prisoner should not have bail, and it
was at this stage that the incident arose. The chief constable was proceeding
to speak when Detective Willoughby, of the city force, rose from his seat
and stepped into the witness box, and said “Allow me, Sir,”. He was going
to speak when the chief constable said: “Willoughby, step out of the box.”
Willoughby: I will do. The chief constable preceded to state that he would take
responsibility of the prisoner being remanded. Detective Willoughby: He is
innocent; and if the case is gone on with I and Detective green will
give evidence in his favour. The chief constable said “Stand down sir.
If you don't if you don't know your position I will teach you. Detective
Willoughby: “You have done”. The stipendiary: “Is there any reason why the
prisoner should not have bailed? I cannot of course, shut my eyes to what
Willoughby has said”. The chief constable said he would agree to bail, and the
prisoner was remanded a £5 bail. The stipendiary to the chief constable: “Of
course you will inquire into this”. The chief constable: “Yes Sir; Very
seriously.” The incident then closed. After the police court proceedings
Willoughby was suspended by the chief constable, and his conduct will be
investigated by the Watch Committee.
The Liverpool Evening Express,
19 November 1903:
BRADFORD POLICE COURT INCIDENT. Resignation of the two detectives. A further
development has taken place in connection with the protest made in the Bradford
City police court on Monday by two detectives, and the lengthy proceedings
there on Tuesday. Yesterday morning detectives H Willoughby and George Green,
who have served in the city police for 14 years and 13 ½ years respectively,
had an interview with the chief constable, Mr. J Farndale, and both officers
formerly attended their resignations through him to the Watch Committee.
The officers allege that they have been treated unfairly. Willoughby had
been under suspicion since Monday, but Green was on duty up to yesterday
morning.
The Manchester Evening News,
21 November 1903:
THE BRADFORD POLICE COURT INCIDENT, WATCH COMMITTEE’S INQUIRY. At the
meeting of the Bradford Watch Committee yesterday, Alderman JB Moorhouse
presiding, a full investigation was held into the incident which
occurred in the police court on Monday, and the subsequent prolonged hearing of
the charge against a man named Whelan on Tuesday. It will be remembered that Detective
Willoughby, during the application made from and made by the chief
constable cover stepped into the witness box and told the bench that William
was innocent. He was reproved by the chief constable, Mr. J Farndale,
and subsequently suspended. On Tuesday the magistrates held that the evidence
given was too conflicting to convict Whelan, and he was discharged, after
Detective Willoughby and Detective George Green had given evidence. At that
hearing, however, police constable Petty, in cross examination, stated he had
reported Willoughby for using obscene language on Monday night, when it was
alleged he was the worse for drink. On Wednesday both detectives handed
in their resignation. Willoughby 's letter stated that since a county court
action of July 8 he had been unfairly treated by the chief constable;
And Green alleged that he had met with unfair treatment from police constables
Petty and Kirk. The Watch Committee met at 4:30 PM, and rose at 7:00 when the
chief clerk, Mr F Stevens, communicated the result to the press. The
committee accepted the resignation of both officers forthwith, and passed a
resolution declaring that any allegation of blame or unfairness against the
chief constable was without fault foundation. The committee expressed
their confidence in him and his manner of administrating the department under
his charge. The point of the decision appears to lie in the fact that as
the resignations were accepted, Willoughby and Green will be entitled to their
proportion of pension for the period of their service.
1904
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
6 January 1904:
RAID ON A DISORDERLY HOUSE. Today at Bradford Police Court *, a widow, was
brought up in custody on a charge of keeping a disorderly house. The
Chief Constable (Mr Joe Farndale) stated that the house had been under special
observation since the 12th of last month. Women had been seen to
frequent the house in company with men. The same women had been seen to
take different men on different occasions. The house was raided last night and
a couple was found in the bedroom and another couple in the front room. In
answer to the Stipendiary the Chief Constable said the woman had no husband.
Joseph Farndale’s moral crusade turned its attention to offending
picture postcards in 1904. The Bradford Daily Telegraph, 12 September 1904: Sir, it is about
time that Bradford as a whole should rise in protest at the support which
Chief Constable Farndale is giving to the whimsicalities of the free church
council. First, the pubs (music licences), then the theatres, and now
the innocent shopkeeper are being made to suffer. And all this fuss is
being made about an unoffending picture postcard, which is probably caused
more merriment than anything, published in Bradford during the last 12 months,
and that included the satirical “J....” Possibly Joseph Farndale would like to
see the shop windows of fancy stationers plastered with pictorial postcards
depicting him in his glorious war paint. Forsooth, it would be a subject to
hand down to our children's children, that is if the London comics did not
steal the copyright. We shall next have an objection about policemen smiling
when on duty, and possibly the chiefs thoroughbred may be induced to wear a
shirt. I'm afraid that in this age progress we are mentally on the decline, and
it is certainly a pity that they cannot find detectives something more to do
than patrol the town in a hunt after picture postcards, especially of the kind
to which objection has been taken. There is quite sufficient work for the
police in looking after the thieving fraternity, judging by the number of robberies
that have recently taken place in Bradford. Trusting that the bench, if it
comes to that, will not be guiled by these puritanical crusaders,
believe me to be, J Jackson, Girlington, September 11th, 1904.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
10 September 1904:
BRADFORD’S MORALS. THE SILLY
‘YUMMY YUM’ POSTCARDS. STRONG ACTION BY THE CHIEF CONSTABLE. SUPRESSION OF
PICTURE POSTCARDS.
One of the supressed
postcards
Chief Constable Farndale,
the head of the Bradford police force, has already gained some notoriety for
his attitude on certain questions affecting the morals of the people, but his latest stricture
is likely to bring him increased popularity among the large class of
citizens in this connection. It is to take the form of the suppression of a
certain class of picture post card, which has been largely in demand in the
city during the past weeks. In addition to the one reproduced above there are
two other equally ridiculous postcards purporting to depict “Shipley Glen after
dark.” Naturally enough, the action of the chief constable is being strongly
resented by certain retailers of picture postcards, and in all probability
these city magistrates will in a few days be called upon to decide the issue.
Yesterday, visits were paid to shops by officers of the police force with
special instructions from the Chief Constable to effect the purchase of the
complete set from each of the largest establishments in the centre of the town.
At the same time the proprietor or person in charge was made aware of the
mission of the police with the information that if the sale of these particular
cards was discontinued nothing further would be heard of the matter. In the
event of a refusal to comply with Mr Farndale's request, however, it was made
clear that proceedings would probably be instituted in the police court.
Almost without exception the
shopkeepers have failed to comply with his request, and have decided to fight
the matter out. As a body they maintain that the offending post cards are in
no way immoral, but merely a humorous satire upon the conversation usually
heard in these places after dusk. Regarding the sale of these particular cards
some idea of the extent of their popularity may be gathered from the fact that
one dealer not far from the bottom of Manchester Road declared that his sale
for the past month has averaged many thousands per week. In the course of an
interview one manager remarked: “I don't know what we're coming to. We shall
have to show our marriage licence to the milkman next. It would be far
better if Mr Farndale would only turn his attention to the number of loose women
who are allowed to wander about the streets at night in search of their prey,
rather than try to interfere with the innocent enjoyment to the people.”
Another of the offending shop men was equally indignant, and expressed himself
thus: “Why don't the police stop us from breathing? If we had exposed pictures
for sale which were allowed in other towns there would have been just cause for
complaint, but to seize an innocent little card with a few silly cover
ridiculous suggestions upon it seems to me to be perfectly absurd. I cannot
believe that the common sense of the Bradford Bench will be misled by such
tactics as these.” Generally the impression prevails amongst dealers in picture
postcards that the action of the Chief Constable is an unwarrantable interference
at the privileges of the people, and it will be interesting to know what
will be the ultimate result.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
12 September 1904:
FOM THE SHOPKEEPER’S POINT OF VIEW. Sir, from the shopkeeper 's point of
view the action of the Chief Constable, with regards to suppressing a certain
series of picture postcards, is puritanical in the extreme, and is
another hardship upon a class which already has enough to bear. While rates are
steadily going up in the town, the retail trade is growing worse, and this
action seems to many of us like the thin end of the wedge. Already stationers
and other tradesmen have been injured a good deal by the Bradford Exhibition, and it is hard indeed to
find any justification for this latest action. At the very worst the postcards
can only be described as nonsensical, and I would defy Mr Farndale to show
any indecency about them. Shopkeepers who deal in picture postcards now
exercise a great deal of discretion, and large numbers of those which are
exhibited in shop windows on the Continent are boycotted by retailers here.
What these over-efficious authorities would say to
some of the series openly displayed in continental towns I don't know. But I
can assure them that in many cases one or two of the worst of a series imported
from abroad is destroyed. I admit that so far the matter has not become
serious, but we regard this of a warning of stricter measures yet forthcoming.
Thanking you in anticipation for inserting this letter. Yours truly. Indignant
shopkeeper. September 10 1904.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
27 December 1904:
BRADFORD MAN AND HIS RING. Bradford police called this morning, before the
Stipendiary, Mr Skidmore,... Thomas Harrington, 45, labourer, 35 Burlington St,
pleaded guilty to attempting to steal 2s 6d by trick from George Bates.
The Chief Constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, said that on Christmas Eve the
prisoner accosted two young men from Dewsbury and ask them to buy a ring. It
was only brass, and he represented it to be 18 carat gold. The prisoner had
been in trouble 29 times previously for all manner of offences. He was now
sentenced to two months imprisonment with hard labour.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
28 July 1904:
WATER TOO COLD FOR SUICIDE. At the Bradford police court this morning, John
Morrell, 56, mill hand, Paisley Street, was charged with attempting to
commit suicide by drowning at the Bradford canal on June 20th. The Chief
Constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, said that the prisoner was seen by two men lying
full length on the canal bank. They afterwards heard a splash and saw him in
the water. He was struggling and trying to get out, and on them rendering
assistance he was rescued. These Stipendiary: “Is this the man who said he found
the water too cold?” The chief constable: “It is Sir”. This Stipendiary: “He
cooled himself, and then wanted to get out. Well, I don't think this is a case
of attempted suicide”. The Chief Constable said that the prisoner had recently
come from America and had been staying with some friends in Bradford, but they
could not undertake to look after him. The prisoner had said he was sorry for
what had happened to, and he had signalled his intention of returning to
America at the earliest opportunity. These Stipendiary: “You will be
discharged. And when you go into the water again take your clothes off, and go
to the baths.”
There was a visit by the Prince and Princess of Wales to Bradford
in 1904.
The Bradford
Weekly Telegraph, 7 May 1904: SECOND EDITION. OUR ROYAL VISITORS. PRINCE AND PRINCESS AT
MANNINGHAM MILLS. A TOUR OF THE INDUSTRIAL HIVE. DEPARTURE FOR LONDON. THEIR
HIGHNESSES PLEASED WITH VISIT. The truth of the old maxim which says something
of “the best laid schemes of mice and men” was fully demonstrated on Friday
when the Prince and Princess of Wales made their return visit to Bradford for
the express purpose of inspecting Manningham Mills. The visit was to be of a strictly
private character, and the edict went forth but the movements of the royal
couple yesterday were to be kept strictly secret. But the fulfilment of the
injunction appeared at the outset to be well nigh
possible, and, as everybody expected, the whole scheme of arrangements leaked
out, with the gratifying results that Bradford had a still further opportunity
of testifying to its strong sense of a spirit of loyalty. To have made any
attempts to decorate the station at which the royal party were to alight would,
of course, have been to at once let out the secret, but this precaution made no
difference, for everybody appeared to be ‘in the know’, and again Bradford
extended a hearty welcome to their Royal Highnesses. The arrival at Frizinghall. The Princess the Prince and Princess and suite
travelled by a special train, to which was attached the Great Northern
Company’s royal saloon. It was due to arrive at the frizinghall
station at 11:19 AM. A few minutes before that time the Mayor, Alderman David
Wade, drove up to the station, and was followed on the platform by the chief
constable, Mr. J Farndale...
The Manchester Courier, 7 May
1904: ROYALTY
AT BRADFORD. A TOUY ROUND MANNINGHAM MILLS. Evidence of fresh interest taken
by the Prince and Princess of Wales in Bradford industries was afforded
yesterday, when, by arrangement, their Highnesses paid a private visit to
Manningham Mills to see for themselves the various manufacturing processes.
The visit was prompted in the first place by the Princess’s gratification and
to some extent surprise, when specimens of Bradford dress goods were submitted
to her for selection of dress material to wear at the opening of the
Exhibition. So interested was she in the products that she expressed a desire
to see them in the making. The old mayor, Alderman Wade, was consulted, and he
suggested the Manningham Mills. These mills are the largest silk works in
the world, and give employment to 4,000 hands, though of course, the
manufacture of worsted goods is what might be called the staple industry of the
city. In the silk world, however, the name of Lister is supreme, and in
commercial circles of Bradford there was great satisfaction when it became
known that the interest of the Prince and Princess in the City’s industries
would thus be practically displayed. The Royal party travelled in the morning
by special train from Arthington to Frizinghall - a
suburban station of Bradford, where they were met by the Mayor, the Town Clerk,
Mr F Stevens, and the Chief Constable. Mr J Farndale. The mayor had
provided his private carriage for their Highnesses, and rode with them through
Lister Park, where the exhibition is being held, to Manningham Mills...
1905
The Leeds Mercury, 6 January
1905: GAVE HER
HOUSE KEY TO A STRANGER. ** pleaded not guilty to a charge of stealing a
handbag … The Chief Constable (Mr J Farndale), who prosecuted, said the bag
was stolen from the Roebuck Inn, Nelson Street, where it had been left for a
few minutes by the prosecutor. Suspicion rested on the prisoner, and a
detective visited her house. She denied all knowledge of the stolen property,
but on a search being made the bag was discovered under a bed in her kitchen
…
The Leeds Mercury, 9 February
1905: CRIME
IN BRADFORD – ANNUAL POLICE REPORT. The annual report of the chief constable
of Bradford, Mr Farndale, to the Bradford City Council for the year 1907
states that in the period the number of crimes committed was 1,188, an increase
compared with the previous year of 39. For these offences 519 persons were
arrested and 21 proceeded against, by summons, 436 were males and 101 females.
Of the persons proceeded against, 103 were committed for trial, 355 were dealt
with summarily; the cases against 78 were withdrawn or dismissed, and one
prisoner died in Leeds gaol while on remand. Although apparently there is an
increase in crime for the year 1904 as compared with the year 1903 of 39
offences, yet there is a decrease in nearly every class of offence except
simple and minor larcenies, larceny from the person, and obtaining goods
etc by false pretences, except in particular the offence of attempting to
commit suicide, the same number being charged in 1904 as in 1983, ie 20.... There are now 313 members of the force who hold
the St. John's ambulance association first aid certificate...
There were further developments in the use of fingerprints. The Yorkshire Post and Leeds
Intelligencer, 10 February 1905:
IDENTIFICATION BY FINGER
PRINTS
BRADFORD EXOPERIENCE
When the Bertillon method
of identifying criminals by the prints of their fingers was first
introduced into England much doubt was expressed as to the efficacy of the
system. Those doubts have been to a great extent dispelled by several recent
cases, where criminals have been identified by and convicted on the evidence of
their fingerprints. Additional arguments in support of the system has been
supplied by the Chief Constable of Bradford, Mr Joseph farndale, in his Annual
Report just issued. Mr Farndale states that this system of identifying
criminals has been in operation in Bradford for the past 18 months, with highly
satisfactory results, and he adds that it has been of valuable assistance
in the detection of serious crime. In one case a finger impression was left on
a glass panel which had been broken in effecting an entry to an office; in
another an impression was left on a small polished medicine chest which had
been opened; In a third case an impression was left on a bathroom door, the top
of which had been grasped by the thief in lowering himself from the ceiling
through which he had entered the premises; in a fourth the thief drank beer
from a bottle inside the premises entered, leaving a finger impression on the
bottle. All the articles mentioned were brought to the Town Hall, where
photographs of the impressions were taken and enlarged. In one instance the
impression was found to be identical with a finger impression of a well known convicted thief, whose prints were contained in
the local record. He was arrested and upon this and evidence of a
circumstantial nature he was committed for trial and eventually convicted. In
other cases the thieves were apprehended upon circumstantial evidence, which
upon their trial was conclusively supported by further evidence that the
fingerprint impressions referred to with theirs, and they were convicted.
Mr Farndale states that the
finger impressions of prisoners sentenced at any court for indictable offences,
that is, offences against the person, against property with or without
violence, forgery etc, are recorded at the Habitual Criminals Registry at
Scotland Yard, where there are at present records of the impressions of
over 100,000 prisoners. These records are so classified that on the receipt
of the impression of a prisoner two or three minutes is sufficient to
ascertain whether or not a duplicate copy is on the record. If it is, the
prisoner’s criminal history is supplied by return of post. The result is that
the courts dealing with old offenders have their complete criminal history
before them. Where no records are obtainable it may safely be assumed that
there has been no previous conviction of serious crime.
The latest incidents in
which the fingerprint identification has been valuable in Bradford was before
the stipendiary magistrate yesterday. **, 24, labourer, * Maltby St, and * *,
34, labour, * Dundas St, were charged with stealing wines, cigars etc, value
£30, the property of the Undercliffe Bowling Green
Club, and * was further charged with stealing a quantity of whiskey, tobacco
and cigars of value of £4, the property of **. Both prisoners pleaded guilty.
Mr W G Purnell, who prosecuted, said that the club
premises were broken into between Saturday January 23rd and Monday 30th. The
only clue found was the impression of a finger on a glass. This was
photographed, and compared with a large number of other fingerprint
photographs. As a result of this * was arrested, and from information which he
gave to the police the arrest of * followed.
The Stipendiary, Mr Charles
Skidmore, pointed out that the case showed the value of fingerprints.
* was sentenced to six weeks
imprisonment and * was fined 1s with 28s costs in the two charges against him,
or an alternative of 14 days in the first case and 10 days in the second case.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
3 April 1905:
With reference to the rather alarming incident which occurred at Belle Vue
barracks on Friday last during the police inspection, it would appear that the
horse in question scarcely merited the ‘character’ given it by the various
reports which appeared in the press. The Chief Constable has frequently ridden
the animal on parade, and whilst it is a fact that the horse has come down two
or three times that has been owing to the slippery state of the pavements. The
statement that it has thrown the ‘Chief’ appears to be both a libel on the
animal itself and Mr Farndale's horsemanship.
The Leeds Mercury, 12 May 1905:
THE HUMANE CHIEF CONSTABLE
BRADFORD MAYOR’S NOVEL VIEW
Some 40 chief constables of
cities and boroughs in England and Wales visited Bradford yesterday, the
occasion being the annual meeting of the Chief Constables’ Association.
Prior to the meeting which
was held in the town hall, the Mayor, Alderman W E B Priestley, entertained the
visitors and a number of guests, about 70 gentleman in all, to luncheon in the
Great Northern Victoria hotel.
In submitting the toast of
“the Association”, the Mayor who presided over the function said it had
often astonished him that people should have should regard chief constables as
hard, severe, and cruel men and that they should look askance at the police
officers and the heads of the police force. That was a great pity, because he
was sure that the only wish of the officers was to do all they could for the
benefit of the community. Whilst carrying out the law, they should never forget
that the biggest man was the most humane man. Their greatness did not exist
in adhering to the letter of the law, but being lenient and charitable, and in
help helping those people who were tried in the courts to become men and women.
(Hear, hear).
Mr FH Mardlin,
Chief Constable of Northampton, and President of the Association, in
responding, warmly thanked the Mayor for entertaining the members, and
mentioned that it was the first time they had been officially recognised in
that manner.
Mr J Farndale, Chief
Constable of Bradford, and president-elect of the association, also responded. He
expressed the hope that the day would come when the public would regard the
policeman as their friend.
The Bradford police set an early speed trap.
The Leeds Mercury, 22
September 1905:
BRADFORD MOTOR TRAP
STIPENDIARY MAGISTRATE
NEARLY RUN DOWN
A trap for unwary motorists
on the Keighly Road, Frizinghall, Bradford, resulted
in a prosecution at the city county court yesterday. The defendant was *, electrical
and mechanical engineer, and he was summoned for driving a motor car at a
speed exceeding 20 miles an hour.
The chief constable, Mr
Farndale, said the defendant passed a measured 220 yards at a speed equal to 24
miles, 1,276 yards, an hour. He was timed by two police officers with
stopwatches, who signalled each other with umbrellas. The times
varied 4/5 of a second, and the defendant had been given the benefit of this by
a calculation of the longest time.
The Stipendiary, Mr
Skidmore, said the locality was most dangerous one. He had nearly been run over
himself there on the previous evening.
Inspector Seed, one of the
police officers, said there was other traffic on the road at the time, but no
one was in danger.
Mr W G Purnell, on behalf of the defendant,
complained that the distance of 220 yards was much too short and unfair. He
pointed out the considerable difference one second would make in timing over
such a short distance, and expressed the opinion that the length should be no
less than 1/4 of a mile.
The Stipendiary said the
police officers would not have been visible to each other at this point if such
a distance had been taken.
Proceeding, Mr Purnell said
the defendant had had experience of the motor trade generally for eight or nine
years, and in the last three years he had driven all over the United Kingdom
without having a complaint raised against him.
The defendant gave evidence,
and estimated the speed of the car at 18 miles an hour. He admitted that he
had no means on the car of ascertaining its speed. He did not agree with
the chief constable that speed grew with motorists.
Mr North, a Bradford
gentleman who was in the car at the time, also estimated the speed at 18 miles.
The bench convicted, and
imposed a fine of £3 and 9s 6d costs.
The Yorkshire Evening Post, 27
September 1905:
AN IMPORTANT APPOINTMENT
MOTORIST’S EXCUSE FOR
‘SCORCHING’ AT BRADFORD
THE STIPENDIARY MAGISTRATE
AND A NEW BY LAW
Two further summonses
against motorists for enforcing the legal limit came on for hearing at the
Bradford City court today.
In the first case Mr * on
behalf of * pleaded guilty to exceeding 20 miles an hour.
The chief constable, Mr
Joseph Farndale, said that the defendant travelled over a distance of an eighth
of a mile at a speed of 26 miles an hour... There was however no traffic on the
road at the time.
Mr * said that Mister* had
a very important appointment to keep. He was considered to be the most expert
driver in Bradford, and he was sorry that he had broken the law...
The Yorkshire Evening Post, 30
September 1905:
AN OPPONENT OF MOTOR TRAPS
BRADFORD CHIEF CONSTABNLE
AND THE USE OF SPEED INDICATORS
THE COST OF ADMINISTERING
THE ACT
In a report on the
regulation of motor traffic in the city, the Chief Constable of Bradford, Mr.
J Farndale, strongly urges the Watch Committee to apply to the local government
board for a regulation reducing the maximum speed to 12 miles an hour within a
radius of 2 miles of the town hall.
With regard to motor traps,
Mr Farndale says: “the only mode at present of checking the speed is to have a
given distance carefully measured and policemen stationed there with
stopwatches to check each car that travels over the measured ground. This, I
think, you will agree, is far from satisfactory; it has the appearance
of setting a trap for the purpose of securing a conviction, and does not in the
least secure any protection for the public throughout the city.”
Mr Farndale expressed the
view that the local authorities should be in a position to check the speed of
motor cars throughout the whole of their district, and this could be done by having
a power to refuse registration of a car unless fitted with a speed and mileage
recorder, and to prevent the maximum speed being exceeded, by having
additional power to refuse the registration of a car so constructed as to
exceed 12 miles an hour when travelling on level plane on a level plane.
He does not advocate
imprisonment for offences under the Motor Car Act ... As to impounding the offender's car he said that this would be
essential if each car were to be required to carry a speed and mileage
recorder, because it would be necessary to submit the car to the court, in the
condition in which it was found when checked by the police....
1906
The Bradford
Daily Telegraph, 14 February 1906:
CHIEF CONSTABLE’S REPORT.
The Annual Report read by the
Chief Constable, Mr. J Farndale, contained the following passage: There are
within your jurisdiction 1,108 licencing full licences for the sale of
intoxicating liquors, including six for premises which have been pulled down,
as compared with 1,111 last year...
The following is a table
showing the proportion of population to each licenced house in Bradford as
compared with other county boroughs:
|
Name of Town |
No of houses licensed |
Population in 1901 |
Proportion of population
to each licensed house |
|
Sheffield |
1,780 |
409,070 |
229 |
|
York |
335 |
77,914 |
232 |
|
Halifax |
428 |
104,916 |
245 |
|
Bradford |
1,108 |
279,767 |
252 |
|
Bristol |
1,307 |
339,066 |
239 |
|
Huddersfield |
345 |
95,047 |
275 |
|
Hull |
825 |
240,259 |
291 |
|
Liverpool |
2,020 |
702,247 |
347 |
|
Leeds |
1,135 |
428,968 |
248 |
|
Middlesbrough |
168 |
91,302 |
543 |
… 19 persons have been
proceeded against for being drunk and refusing to quit licenced premises, or
disorderly and refusing to quit,...
The number of prosecutions
during the same for habitual drunkenness under the Inebriates’ Act 1898, Section 2, was seven, six
being males and one being female, of whom two, a male and a female, were
committed to Inebriates’ Homes. …
The Inebriates Act 1898
allowed non-criminal inebriates to be admitted to reformatories for up to three
years if they had been convicted of drunkenness four times in one year.
Criminal inebriates were also included if they had been convicted of an
imprisonable crime. State inebriate reformatories could be established by the
Secretary of State paid for by the government. Certified inebriate
reformatories satisfying the certification process of the Secretary of State
could be created on the application of the council of any county or borough or
of any persons desirous of establishing an inebriate reformatory. The Habitual
Drunkards Act 1879 had allowed authorities to establish retreats for inebriates
but payment by the inmate was required, thus excluding those working-class
drunkards most at risk and with the least financial support.
Section 2(1) stated: Any
person who commits any of the offences mentioned in the First Schedule to this
Act, and who within the twelve months preceding the date of the commission of
the offence has been convicted summarily at least three times of any offences
so mentioned, and who is a habitual drunkard, shall be liable upon conviction
on indictment, or if he consents to be dealt with summarily on summary
conviction, to be detained for a term not exceeding three years in any
certified inebriate reformatory the managers of which are willing to receive
him
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
8 May 1906: THE
BRADFORD WALK. RETURN OF BRITISH ATHLETES FROM ATHENS. The Bradford Walk. ...
The Executive of the Bradford and County Walking Association met last night at
the George hotel, Bradford to discuss the arrangements for the annual walk... A
letter was read from the Chief Constable of Bradford cover Mr. J Farndale,
in which that gentleman stated that there were certain objections to the walk
starting from the centre of the town, and a deputation consisting of... was
appointed to interview Mr Farndale on the matter.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
12 May 1906: BEGGING
NUISANCE IN BRADFORD. WHERE SYMPATHY IS WASTED. This morning, at the City
Police Courts, three blind persons were dealt with or for begging. The
first was *, of the Lodging Houses, charged with soliciting alms in Godwin
Street; the second was *, of George Street, charged with begging in Kirk Gate;
and the other was *, of Jermyn Street, charged with begging in Bank Church. The
Chief Constable stated that this was a serious offence, and a great nuisance in
Bradford. The man * was a vagrant in the true sense of the term. He had had
friends who had left him money which he had squandered in drink. He had been
tried by a committee of the Corporation, but he would do nothing, and
persisted in getting his living in this precarious way. He had been taught
to work at the Blind Institute, but he absolutely refused to follow employment
there. * said that the trade he had been taught to work at was not sufficiently
remunerative. He was sent to gaol for seven days hard labour. In the case of *,
the Chief Constable said he was worthless fellow. He was formerly at Halifax
during the time that he, Mr Farndale, was there. He was not blind then, but had
brought on his blindness by his vicious habits, and had been convicted 16
times for all manner of offences, principally drunkenness. Then he came to
Bradford and had lived on the generous public ever since. He had since many
times can been convicted of drunkenness at Bradford. The Stipendiary asked:
“Why don't you go to the workhouse?” “Because I'd sooner have my liberty”. *
was sent to gaol for 21 days hard labour.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
12 June 1906: BRADFORD
WALKERS ASSOCIATION. A meeting of the Bradford and County Walking Association
was held at the George Hotel last night, Mr J E Hammond presiding. A rough
balance sheet was presented, showing that the recent walk had been financial
success. Votes of thanks were accorded to the officials who had engineered the
event. The Chief Constable of Bradford, Mr. J Farndale, was complemented on the
efficient way in which he had dealt with the crowds that assembled, and votes
of thanks were also accorded to the police officials at Burley, Ilkley and
Otley....
The Leeds Mercury, 26 December
1906: BRADFORD
WOMAN LOSES HER EYE. TWO MEN IN CUSTODY. At Bradford, yesterday, *, aged 47, warehouseman
of grey street, and *, 27, a carter of George Street, were charged with inflicting
grievous bodily harm on *, wife of *, a tailor of Waterfield Road. The
Chief Constable, Mr Farndale said the parties were more or less under the
influence of drink. * and his wife on invitation visited the *s in the
evening of Monday at 121 George Street and eventually quarrelled, and * came to
the police station to make a complaint. On his return he was told that his wife
had been turned into the backyard and that * had followed her. The woman was
found in such condition that she could not speak, her mouth being badly
injured, and her right eye burst, and was removed to the Infirmary. Mr Farndale
added that the doctors had little hope of saving the eye, which would probably
have to be removed that afternoon and the general state of the prosecutrix was
very precarious. These Stipendiary remanded the prisoners for a week. Last
evening the eye of the unfortunate woman was removed and she was reported to be
still in a serious condition.
1907
The police turned their attention in 1907 to public dancing
regulations.
The Bradford
Daily Telegraph, 23 January 1907: WHAT IS A DANCING SCHOOL?
BRADFORD PROSECUTION. A POLICEMAN AND HIS AWKWARD PARTNER. Today at the
Bradford Police Court, * of Carlton house, Little Horton lane, was summoned for
using a room for public dancing without a licence. The Chief constable, Mr
Joseph Farndale, said to the proceedings were taken under the Public Health
Amendment Act. The stipendiary: I tried this question many years ago in a test
case. Continuing, the chief constable said that the defendant was the occupier
of rooms at the rear of his residence in Little Horton lane. The rooms were
built for the purpose of dancing. Up to last year the defendant was the holder
of a dancing licence in the Collegian Rooms, and he had apparently transferred
his business to these rooms, for which he had no license. The only difference
in the conduct between the two places was that in the case of the Collegian
Rooms, the tickets were sold at the door, and at the rooms in Little Horton
lane, tickets were sold for four nights, any four nights during the season. Mr.
Brown gave instruction in dancing on certain nights in the week, and the other
nights were devoted to public dancing. On one occasion these rooms were let to
a young man connected with a Bradford firm, and this gentleman sold tickets to
the public for dancing. The chief constable argued that the rooms were not a
dancing school within the meaning of the Act, and should be subjected to
the same conditions as other public dancing institutions. PC Shaw, a
probationer, who was sent to those rooms to make inquiries, said he took out a
ticket for four nights, and on the second night he had to complain of his
partner being awkward. The Stipendiary: Perhaps she thought you were awkward.
(Laughter). PC Shaw further stated that on almost every occasion instruction in
dancing was given by Mr. Brown, and new dances were explained. Mr Alex Neil,
who appeared for the defendant, denied that the room had been used for
public dancing, and maintained that the rooms were simply a dancing school.
Mr. Brown then went into the witness box, and made a remark about the police
witness, which was considered offensive. The chief constable: Did you find
anything amiss with the constable while you while at your rooms? Mr. Brown: no.
The chief constable: Why do you go out of your way to say that the constable
was no good? I did not say he was no good. I put it to you that the reason why
you don't take out a licence is because you object to policemen coming into
your rooms? Witness: I do not object to the police coming, I am master at my
own house. They stipendiary in dismissing the case expressed the opinion that
the rooms were dancing rooms to which the public were promiscuously admitted.
The Public Health
Amendment Act 1890 had as its purpose to promote the public's health and to
ensure “more effective provision ... for improving sanitary conditions of towns
and populace places in England and Wales.”
The Manchester Evening News,
26 January 1907:
A doubtful situation in licencing law, as applied to dancing halls has
arisen at Bradford, Yorkshire, in consequence of a recent ruling by the
stipendiary magistrate, Mr Charles Skidmore. The Chief Constable, Mr. J
Farndale, on Wednesday prosecuted a man for using a room at the rear of his
house for the purpose of public dancing and music without a licence. After
hearing the evidence the Stipendiary dismissed the summons on the ground
that the room was not used promiscuously by the public. The matter was
discussed yesterday by the Watch Committee, and in view of the important
bearing such a decision might have upon the conduct of dancing halls in future,
it was decided to take the opinion of the town clerk, Mr F Stevens, as to
whether there were sufficient facts to warrant an appeal against these type
injuries finding.
The Yorkshire Evening News, 13
February 1907: EX
LEEDS LANDLADY. PIQUANT CASE AT BRADFORD LICENSING SESSIONS. MRS CARR’S
APPLICATION GRANTED. One of the most piquantly interesting cases at the
Bradford City court during the licencing sessions today was that in which *,
widow, applied for a renewal of the licence for all intoxicating liquors at the
Wild Boar in, Bolton Rd. The Chief Constable, Mr. J Farndale, took exception on
the ground of “character not satisfactory and not qualified by law.” Evidence
was called as to the manner in which she had previously conducted public houses
in Leeds - the Roscoe and the Lord Byron.
The Shipley Times and Express,
15 February 1907:
BRADFORD LANDLADY AND HER LICENCE. EXTRAORDINARY REVELATIONS AT THE
SESSIONS. THE MAN IN THE GREEN TIE. A PROMISE OF MARRIAGE AT THE ‘WILD BOAR’.
For a considerable time on Wednesday the city licencing sessions at the
Bradford town hall bought a marked resemblance to the divorce court, for
one out of the score of objections to renewals of licences led to serious
allegations against the character of the applicant. Two of those concerned
in this case were parties to a recent action in Leeds County Court for the
payment of betting money, and in addition, two or three of the witnesses had
figured in a divorce case some years ago. The applicant was *, of the Wild Boar
Inn, Bolton Road, and the renewal of the existing licence was objected to on
the ground: “character not satisfactory and not qualified by law.” Mr. A Willey of Leeds appeared for the applicant. A point of
order. At the outset a legal argument took place between the Chief Constable,
Mr. J Farndale and Mr Willey as to whether the opening statement of Mr Farndale
was in order. Mr Willey submitted that the chief constable should give his
objections on oath in the witness box. He questioned his right in the capacity
of the chief constable to address the court from the solicitors’ table on
behalf of the objector. He should step into the witness box and be subject to
cross examination. The chairman: He is merely opening his case, and not making
a statement of fact. The bench ruled that Mr Farndale was in order in giving
his statement in that way. Mr Farndale then proceeded to state the reason
for objecting to the removal of the licence, and witnesses were afterwards
called. Mr *, who described himself as a turf commission agent, residing in
Livingston Road, Roundhay Road, Leeds, gave evidence as to his relations with
the applicant. He had known her for about 9 years, and they had cohabited as
man and wife for some years. On two occasions, he said he felt he had found *
misconducting herself with other men. Witness had carried on a betting business
for the benefit of the licenced premises. Under cross examination by Mr Willey,
the witness stated that he had no ill feeling against *. He was subpoenaed to
attend court, and, when asked previously to make a written statement concerning
the applicant he had declined. Mr Willey reminded witness of a case at Leeds
county court, in which claim he made against Mrs * respecting betting
transactions was not sustained. Witness returned to answer questions on the
case, objecting to its being tried over again, and was called to order by the
chairman...
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
8 March 1907: CITY
POLICE ATHELETIC CLUB. GYMNASTIC DISPLAY AT THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL. At the Bradford Grammar School last night an
interesting gymnastic display was given by members of the City Police
Athletic Club. Amongst those present were the chairman watch committee,
Alderman H B Priestman, and the Chief Constable, Mr Joseph Farndale …
The Yorkshire Evening News, 22
March 1907: BRADFORD
CONDITIING HOUSE MANAGER TOO ILL TO APPEAR. FURTHER REMAND. The second phase of
the Bradford conditioning house case should have been gone into at the Bradford
City court today. In this aspect of the affair, *, manager, of 14 Melbourne
Place, Bradford, was charged with embezzling monies of the Bradford
Corporation: £22 10s, on march 14th 1906; £7 10s within the month last past; £7
16s, within six months last past, and £6 on March 14th 1903.... There was the
more grave accusation against *, but the opening there was a sensational
development in an intimation from Mr Gardner, before Mr Newell arrived, that
the prisoner should not be present, as a matter of fact he had not surrender to
his bail. Mr Gardner applied for a further remand, urging as his reason for
this that since appearing before the court the accused had been taken
seriously ill, and his condition continued to be so bad that he would be
unable to attend. He called Dr Rawson, who said he was called to see the
accused about three o’clock this morning, and found him in an unconscious
condition, as the effect of an epileptic seizure. The unconsciousness continued,
and there were two more seizures. The accused was still unconscious up to nine
o’clock this morning. The Stipendiary said that this evidence was sufficient to
warrant a remand. Chief Constable Farndale protested that the prosecution might
have been given notice of this application. Great expense had been incurred in
getting the witness here. The Stipendiary: We don't often get notice of
fits....
The next moral issue to hit Bradford was the appearance of the
actress known as Milo who posed as a ‘living statue’.
Actress Pansy Montague was
also known as ‘La Milo’. Her posings as a statue, on
the London stage and in various music halls around the country, provoked controversy.
Pansy Montague, ‘La Milo’ appeared as a chorus girl and actress in
Melbourne from about 1898, and in 1901 understudied Nellie Stewart in Sydney.
In 1905 she appeared in Melbourne and Sydney for Harry Rickards’ Variety
Theatre as ‘The Modern Milo’ in a series of poses described as a ‘facsimile
of Ancient and Modern Statuary and Sculpture’. In 1906 she went to England
and Europe, where through again exhibiting herself clad in next to naught,
she revived public interest in ‘living statues’. In the first half of
1907 the Bishop of London called for the London Council to ban living statues,
but at the Coventry Pageant in August 1907 La Milo enacted the role of Lady
Godiva, riding a horse for five hours in pink ‘fleshings’
under chiffon drapery and lengthy wig before 150 000 spectators including at
least one incensed clergyman. In 1908 at the Grand Hotel, Birmingham, she went
through a ceremony of marriage to a man going by the name of Ferdinand Eggena. In 1910, the couple appeared in court along with a
motor car agent named Percy Easton, the three accused of fraudulently deceiving
a jeweller. Pansy Montague claimed that over the past three years, she had
earned five thousand pounds a year and could buy herself all the jewels she
wanted. She and Easton were acquitted, but Eggena was
convicted. La Milo consistently laid claim to the integrity of her art,
in 1910 stating ‘There has been much opposition, much unkind criticism, which
has pained me very much, and in a half-night of weeping has made me determine
to give the whole business up. The only thing that has prevented me from doing
so is the conscientious conviction that I am in the right.’ From late
1914 she toured America to packed houses. Soon after, however, she disappeared
from the historical record; possibly, the war interrupted the supply of white
paint which was made for her by a German chemist to simulate marble.
The Yorkshire Evening News, 6
May 1907: LIVING
STATUARY. SUGGESTED PROHIBIUTION OF LA MILO AT BRADFORD. SHOCKINGITIS. There is
still a good deal of uncertainty as to whether there will be a general
prohibition of the living statuary exhibition throughout the country. La
Milo, the premier posseuse, is billed to appear
at Bradford this week, at the Empire, and on Saturday morning the chairman of
the Watch Committee, Alderman H B Priestman, had a conference with the Chief
Constable, Mr Joseph Farndale who this morning, at a meeting of the Fire
Brigade and Licencing Committee, which has charge of such matters, will
report against the exhibitions of living statuary, and suggest prohibition. It
is probable that the licencing committee will resolve to visit the Empire
before coming to any decision.
The Hull Daily Mail, 7 May
1907: LA
MILO AT BRADFORD. CITY FATHERS WITNESS AND APPROVE. The Empire theatre,
Bradford, where la Milo is appearing this week, was crowded to excess at
both performances last night. It so happened that a meeting of the
Corporation Fire Brigade and Licencing Committee had been fixed for yesterday
morning, when the subject of the agitation was informally mentioned, and the
committee decided to see the performance before coming to any decision.
Accordingly, at the first performance last night, the members of the
committee and some of their wives, together with the Chief Constable, Mr
Farndale, were in attendance, when poses given by La Milo were Hebe,
Canova’s Venus, the Venus de Milo, Sappho, Maidenhood, and Diana. At the
close of her performance La Milo was accorded a hearty reception. Subsequently
the members of the fire brigade and licencing committee held another meeting at
the town hall, under the presidency of Alderman James freeman, when, after
brief consideration of what they had seen, they passed unanimously the
following resolution: “The committee visited the empire theatre, and witnessed
the whole of the performance, and they observed no breach of the rules and
regulations in force in the city with regard to dramatic licences.” La
Milo’s performance will, therefore, be continued in Bradford.
In June 1901, Joseph Farndale made new law on the sale of beer to
children under age, when he appealed a decision of the Stipendiary Magistrate
to the appeal court. The appeal established that beer could only be sold to children
under 14 (ostensibly for their parents!) as bottled beer, and not in an empty
bottle which was then corked and sealed by the publican. It is interesting to
remember that Joseph’s father was a publican in Wakefield!
The Shipley Times and Express,
14 June 1907: CASE
ORDERED TO BE REHEARD. Yesterday
the Kings Bench Divisional Court, composed of the Lord Chief Justice, and
Justices Darling and A T Lawrence, heard an appeal in the case of Farndale v
Dillon, from the decision of the Bradford Justices. It was a prosecution
under the Intoxicating
Liquor (Sale to Children) Act against Hy Dillon, having sent his son, under 14 years of age, to
the White Swan Inn, Lamb Lane, in January last, with a pint bottle which was
not corked for half a pint of beer. The boy came out with a bottle which was
corked but not sealed. The magistrates dismissed the information on the ground that
the father had done all he could. Their lordships sent the case back for
rehearing.
There were concerns about the sale of alcohol to under age children. The Bolton Evening News, 14
June 1907: THE
SALE OF BEER TO CHILDREN. AN INTERESTING APPEAL. In the King's Bench Division yesterday the
case of Farndale v Dillon came before the Divisional Court on appeal from a
decision of the stipendiary magistrate Bradford. The Stipendiary dismissed an
information charging Henry Dillon with having, contrary to the provisions of
the Intoxicating
Liquor (Sale to Children) Act sent his son, a boy under the age of 14 years, to the White Swan
Inn, Lamb Lane, for half a pint of beer, in a bottle which was not corked concealed as required by
the Act. The Stipendiary, in giving his decision, held that the Respondent in
sending a vessel capable of being corked and sealed, had done all he could to
observe the law, that the offence, if any, was attributable to the person
who supplied the beer. The Stipendiary, in the case which he stated, further
said that the solicitor for the Appellant raised the point that the respondent
contravened the Act by sending for half a pint of beer at all, but that point
was not raised before the bench they did not give any decision upon it. Mr
Scarlett, who appeared for the Appellant submitted that the Act prohibited the
sale of less than one reputed pint and that the liquor must be in a corked and
sealed vessel. The Lord Chief Justice said that he had doubts about the
case, and he thought it ought to go back to be heard on the merits. Mr
Justice Darling concurred. He was at the opinion that the reasons given for
refusing to convict were bad. The section under which the information was
laid subjected to a penalty any person knowingly sending a child under the age
of 14 for any description of intoxicating liquor, “excepting such intoxicating
liquors as are sold or delivered in corked and sealed vessels in quantities not
less than one reputed pint for consumption off the premises only.” It appeared to him that the exception
referred to bottled liquors, such as bottled beer, bottled stout, or other liquors
sold in bottles, and that a person was not entitled to send a child with an
empty bottle for beer. Mr Justice A T Lawrence concurred. The case was
accordingly remitted to be heard and determined on its merits.
The Intoxicating Liquor
(Sale to Children) Act 1901 was an Act to prevent the sale of Intoxicating
Liquor to Children. The Act prohibited the sale of alcohol to children under 14
years of age, unless it was in a pint measure that was corked and sealed for
consumption off the premises.
The Warminster & Westbury
Journal, 21 December 1907: SUPPLYING BEER TO CHILDREN. TO THE EDITOR OF THE WARMINSTER
AMND WESTBURY JOURNAL. Sir, I have with some surprise the statement under the
heading “Supplying beer to children: new police order in Wiltshire”, in your
issue on Saturday last. As it is calculated to convey an utterly erroneous
impression, perhaps you would be so kind as to allow me to state the actual
position. The whole matter is due to a misunderstanding of what occurred in
the case of Farndale v Dillon. A man was charged with sending his child
under 14 years of age with a pint bottle for half a pint of beer, and although
an offence had undoubtedly been committed, the minimum under the Act being a
reputed pint, the magistrates did not convict, and the prosecutor appealed. The
case was properly sent back to the magistrates to be determined on its
merits, but in the course of the judgement, Mr Justice Darling casually
expressed his opinion that licences could only serve children under 14 with
bottled ale, stout etc and then the Act did not allow them to supply a pint
or more of draught beer even if the vessel were corked and sealed at the time
of the sale. This personal opinion was not the force of law, and it is entirely
contrary to the intention of the Act, and the practise since 1901. It cannot be
too widely known that it is not a legal decision, but what lawyers call an
obiter dictum. A very eminent firm of London solicitors, and others who
have been consulted, ridicule such a contention, and the London Licenced
Victuallers Central Board has decided, in case of a conviction in London, to
take the case to appeal. Yours faithfully. Cecil H V Weston. Secretary West
Wiltshire Licenced Victuallers and Beer Retailers Protection Association. Star
Inn, Warminster, December 16th 1907.
The Nottingham Evening Post,
28 December 1907:
CHILDREN AND PUBLIC HOUSES. AN IMPORTANT DECISION. Mr Muscat, appearing for
the Commissioner of Police, at Tower Bridge, made an important statement in a
case against Richard Simmons of the Coopers Arms public house, Bermondsey, of
selling beer in an improperly sealed bottle to a child under 14 years. He said
that an entirely new interpretation had been placed upon section one of
the Intoxicating
Liquor (Sale to Children) Act by a special case, Farndale
v Dillon, which was decided by the divisional court on June 13th last. In
that case it was decided by the Lord Chief Justice, Mr Justice Darling, and Mr
Justice Lawrence, that a parent was not entitled to send a child under 14
years of age with a bottle, or any other receptacle, for intoxicating liquor,
even though the publican afterwards corked it and re sealed it. By
analogy it seemed to be manifest that the necessary sequence from the reasoning
in that case was that the publican could not in law sell anything but the
ordinary bottled beer or other bottles intoxicating liquor to children
under 14 years of age. The Commissioner of Police has been advised that such
was the effect of the decision, and he proposed to put it into operation. The
bottom of the Act, so to speak, has been knocked out by various decisions
protecting this the public and, but this was entirely new law, and would be
acted upon at the first opportunity. The present case was not one upon which
the point could be conveniently raised...
The Evening Dispatch, 28
December 1907: NEW
VIEW OF THE INTOXICATING LIQUORS ACT. An important decision of the London
Commissioner of Police regarding licencing prosecutions was announced by Mr
Muskett, at the Tower Bridge police court yesterday. The case was one in which
Richard Simmons, of the Cooper's Arms, Thomas Street, was summoned for selling
beer in an appropriate improperly sealed bottle to a child under 14 years of
age. Mr Muskett said an entirely new interpretation had been placed upon section
two of the Intoxicating Liquor (Sale to Children) Act by a special case - Farndale
v Dillon ...
A tailor’s excuse for the discovery of betting slips all over his
shop. The Yorkshire Post and Leeds
Intelligencer, 15 June 1907: A TAILOR AND HIS CUSTOMERS. NOVEL DEFENCE IN A BETTING CASE.
A novel defence was offered at Bradford yesterday by *, 53, tailor, 34 East
Parade, who is charged with keeping the premises namely 2 Johnson Fold,
Bradford, for the purpose of betting. A youth named *, of 196, Ripon
Street, was also summoned for being found in a common gaming house,
namely, 2 Johnson Fold. * pleaded not guilty. * pleaded guilty. The Chief
Constable, Mr. J Farndale said that the premises at Johnson Fold was
practically unfurnished. The house was kept under observation for three days
and during that time 36 people were seen to enter the place. The premises were
searched under a warrant and the two defendants were found there. The room
contained sporting literature, betting slips relating to over 100 bets,
while Wilkinson had over £100 in his possession. Wilkinson made a novel
defence. He was, he said, a tailor by trade, and the betting slips must
have fallen from the pockets of customers’ coats he was repairing. The
Stipendiary: “Do you find money as well?” Defendant: “Well I have found money.
Once I found a diamond ring.” In regard to the sporting literature, he said he
read such papers daily. Sporting papers to were to be found in every tailor
shop in the country. He confessed he did a little betting on his own account,
but he was not a bookmaker, because he was not sufficiently educated.
The Yorkshire Evening Post, 5
October 1907: BRADFORD’S
HONOUR. THE ROYAL CHARTER READ TODAY. BIG CROWDS ASSEMBLE AT THE TOWN HALL. An
immense crowd thronged the town hall square, Bradford, at noon today, to hear a
public reading by the Lord Mayor, Alderman J Godwin, of the royal charter
granting the dignity of a Lord Mayorality for the
city. A special platform had been erected at the main entrance to the town
hall and from this the Lord Mayor, attended by the lady mayoress, Mrs Godwin,
members of the City Council, magistrates, representatives of public body, and
chief civic officials read the patent. Stationed before the platform were
attachments from the Royal Field Artillery, from the Bradford Moor barracks...
about 200 police, under the chief constable, Mr Farndale, kept order. After the
proceedings the veterans were paraded before the Lord Mayor who briefly
addressed them and made each a gift of a sovereign.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
9 December 1907:
BRADFORD EX WARRANT OFFICER’S DEATH. Prior to the commencement of the
ordinary business of the Bradford Police Court this morning the stipendiary
magistrate, Mr Skidmore, referred to the death of ex Warrant Officer George
Flood. His worship appeared to be deeply affected by the death of his old
bodyguard and said he desired to give a public expression of regret on
behalf of himself and his colleagues on the bench at the untimely death of
Flood. It was only the other day that Flood was in court attending to his
duties. He was an efficient officer, and most obliging and attentive to his
duties. He only retired a few weeks ago on a well earned
pension, and he, the stipendiary, knew how difficult it was for him to sever
himself from the duties of the court. Left behind him is a bright example that
was worthy of being followed by all members of the force. They all desired to
tender to his widow and her family their deepest sympathy. The Chief Constable,
Mr Joseph Farndale, thanked these stipendiary for his kindly interest in one of
the rank and file of the force, and promised to do his utmost to see that the
widow and his family should receive every consideration.
The Yorkshire Evening News, 24
December 1907: POLICE
BETS. THE ONLY EVIDENCE AGAINST A PUBLICAN. BRADFORD CASE DISMISSED. William E
Penn, landlord of the Virginia Tavern, Thornbury, was summoned at Bradford
today for using the house for betting purposes, for suffering gaming,
and for conducting a lottery, the stake being 2s 8d in money. An officer said
that he went and laid bets with the defendant for the races at Kempton Park and
Birmingham. On one occasion on the invitation of a man, he played dominoes and
last, paying for a pint of beer. “Tip-it” was also played for pints of beer in
the presence of the landlord. In one instance he won a pool of 2s 8d and it was
spent in beer and cigars. Mr A Neill, for the defendant, “When you did not find
any betting you made some?” “Yes”. “Do you know the whole house was searched
for slips of paper except the bedroom in which the landlady was lying ill?”
“Yes”. “Did you take part in this dirty business?” Chief Constable Farndale: “I
protest. We're here to do our duty, and I ask for the protection of the court.”
The chairman: “Put it some other way Mr Neil”. Mr Neil: “I cannot find any
other language to describe it in. You will agree with me at the finish that it
is a dirty business, more than dirty”. The chairman, after the bench had
retired, said the only evidence against the defendant was that of the two
officers called and on examination these officers showed themselves to have
been accomplices, and as it was not customary to grant a conviction in such
circumstances the case would be dismissed.
1908
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
6 January 1908:
THE NEW PROBATION ACT. FIRST APPLICATION AT BRADFORD. The Chief Constable,
Mr Joseph Farndale, made an application to at the city police court today,
under the new Probation Act. It was in respect to a charge of felony against a woolcomber, named *, 33, 54 beck St. The chief constable
stated that this was a case of a man giving way to crime through the
influence of drink, and he asked that the prisoner should be put on
probation for 12 months. The magistrates, however, inflicted a fine of 25s,
including costs, with the alternative of 1 months imprisonment with hard
labour.
The Yorkshire Evening Post, 21
January 1908: FUNERAL
OF MR CHARLES SKIDMORE. LATE BRADFORD STIPENDIARY. INTERMENT AT DARLINGTON
TODAY. The funeral of the late stipendiary magistrate for Bradford, Mr
Charles Skidmore, took place today, at West Cemetery, Darlington. Prior to
the removal of the coffin to Midland station, a Bradford service was held at St
Luke's church, Victor Road, Manningham, the Reverend Canon Macguinness, vicar,
the Reverend HG Jones, vicar of Bradford, and the Reverand W S Smith taking
part. There was a large congregation, the principal mourners being... After the
service the lengthy procession, marshalled by the chief constable, Mr. J
Farndale, proceeded along Manningham lane...
The Bolton Evening News, 8
February 1908: DRUNK
AT SIXTEEN. A youth of 16, named *, described as a labourer, was charged at
Bradford City police caught on Friday with being drunk on the licenced
premises of the Bull's Head, also with refusing to quit and with doing wilful
damage. The youth was turned out of the in more than once, and on the last
occasion he smashed a window and taking a heavy file from his pocket threatened
to use it up on the barman. Kelly told the barman that he was 18 years of age.
The chief constable, Mr. J Farndale, informed the bench that the lad's
mother was an inmate at the union workhouse at Middlesbrough, and prisoner
himself had for some time been in a home at Birmingham. He appeared to have
done himself no good since his liberation from the home. “I'm afraid to, Sir,
he comes from bad stock”, said Mr farndale. Mr Amos Crabtree, presiding
magistrate, said that as prisoner had no home in the city the bench could not
very well put him under their probation officer. Fines amounting to 9s 6d and
the costs were imposed, the alternative of each being seven days in prison.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
18 February 1908:
BRADFORD POLICE INSPECTION. ‘MARCH PAST’ IN PEEL PARK. Colonel Eden, His
Majesty's Inspector of Police, visited Bradford today for the purpose of
conducting an inspection at the city police force. The visit was made on
the occasion of an imposing spectacle in Peel Park. Some 337 officers
and men were marshalled on parade in the park, these including 236 constables,
32 sergeants, 15 inspectors, 3 superintendents and the chief constable. As
Colonel Eden presented himself at the park, he was given a general salute in
review order. The police band, under the leadership of Inspector Chapman,
discoursed suitable selections of music, and a march past was admirably carried
out. The chief constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, was in command, and he was
assisted by... the inspection was very successful, and Colonel Eden
complimented the chief constable and the Watch Committee on the general
efficiency of the force. The mounted men in their new uniform presented a
very smart appearance. The Inspector subsequently attended the Town Hall
and examined the books there, and afterwards remarked that they were
exceedingly well kept. The Government Inspector appeared to be highly
satisfied with everything he saw. Col Eden and was afterwards entertained at
lunch and by the Lord Mayor, Mr. J E Fawcett.
The Daily News (London), 19
February 1908:
NEW LICENSING POINT. Mr Marsham, the Bow Street magistrate, yesterday imposed a
penalty of 5s and costs on a publican in Bedfordbury
for selling to a child intoxicating liquor “not being such as is sold in
cooked or sealed bottles.” the police admitted this was a test case
following the decision of the High Court in Farndale v Dillon. The view
there expressed by the judges, said Mr Muskett, was that children should only
be served with liquids commonly sold in bottles already corked. Mr Marsham said
he must be bound by the decision of the High Court, but he offered to state a
case if desired.
Joseph and Emma’s Silver Wedding.
The Halifax Evening Courier,
13 May 1908:
CHIEF CONSTABLE FARNDALE’S
SILVER WEDDING. POLICEMEN AND A PRESENT. UNPLEASANT SUGGESTIONS.
A meeting of the Bradford
City council was held at the Town Hall yesterday afternoon, the Lord Mayor, Mr.
J E Fawcett, presiding. Alderman H B Priestman, chairman of the Watch
Committee, said he had received a number of questions from Mr C A Glide with
regard to a proposed silver wedding gift to the chief constable, Mr Joseph
Farndale. He had hoped that Mr Glide would not have pressed these questions,
but he was left with no alternative but to answer them. The questions were
as follows.
1. Is it a fact that a
proposed presentation to the chief constable on his silver wedding has been
arranged by two inspectors in the central division, in consultation with the
three divisional superintendents?
2. Have the police
constables expressed any desire to subscribe to the fund and were they represented
on the committee?
3. Have the police
constables been informed by the superintendents that £25 has to be raised, and
that constables have to have to subscribe 1s, sergeants 2s 6d, inspectors 3s
6d, and superintendents 5s each.
4. Have the constables been
informed that they may pay their subscriptions at 3d per week, and are the men
being practically coerced into subscribing for the fund by the publication of a
list in which those who do not subscribe are conspicuous by their absence?
In answer to these
questions, Alderman Priestman said that the presentation fund had been
originated in the manner suggested. The two inspectors and the three
superintendents were the natural leaders in a movement like this. The
policemen had shown a distinct desire to contribute, and there had been a
pretty general response, and they were represented on the committee which
had control at the fund. But the men had not been informed that £25 had had to
be raised. Nor had any scale of contributions being fixed. It was true that one
month had been allowed during which payments might be made, but there had been absolutely
no coercion whatever, and he was convinced from inquiries he had made that
the matter was entirely voluntary. He very much regretted that the
movement should be spoiled by such imputations being cast upon it.
(Applause).
Mr. J H Palls asked if it
were not a fact that the list had been drawn up in such a way that each man's
number and name was put down on the sheet. It had not been left in the ordinary
way for a man who desired to contribute to put down his own name. Alderman
Priestman said he had not seen such a sheet as had been described. The matter
then dropped. Chief constable Farndale is well known in Halifax, where he was
formally inspector.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
30 May 1908: Last
week I mentioned the purchase by Mr C E Horner a chocolate pom, loved by Mrs
Farndale. The dog has been named “Moneymaker”, and Mr Horner entered it for the
annual show of the London Pomerianian club, held this
week in the London Scottish Drill Hall, Buckingham Gate. It was successful in
coming out on top, winning first in both classes; also the clubs five guinea
rose bowl for best chocolate puppy over 6 and under 12 months old, the five
guinea challenge cup for the best puppy in the show, and the silver special for
best chocolate in novice class. He is thought to be the best male dog of this
colour brought out for years.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph, 1 June 1908:
BRADFORD’S CHIEF CONSTABLE.
SILVER WEDDING CELEBRATIONS.
PRESENTATIOMNS FROM MAGISTRATES AND CITY POLICE.
On the occasion of the
silver wedding of the Chief Constable of Bradford and Mrs Farndale
presentations from the city magistrates in the city police took place in the
town hall today.
Mr Farndale was married at
Leeds on June 1st 1883, to Emma, the second daughter of the late Mr. Williams Selby, a highly
respected citizen of Wakefield. Mr Farndale was educated at Fieldhouse Academy,
Aberford, where he studied chemistry and law. Having decided to take up
policing as a career he joined the Halifax force in 1883, passing through the
various grades two second in command. He was appointed chief magistrate of
Margate, serving there for nearly five years. After serving at York he was
appointed to the chief constable ship of Bradford in 1901.
In making the presentation
on behalf of the magistrates this morning the Lord Mayor, Mr J F Fawcett,
congratulated Mr and Mrs Farndale on the auspicious event, and trusted they
would have very many happy years of happy married life. The chief constable had
been with them for some time and had won the respect of all the magistrates of
the city, and bearing in mind the work he had done, they desired to tend to him
and to Mrs Farndale the two vases as a token of appreciation. He
sincerely hoped the Chief Constable's work might decrease rather than increase,
and from the course of legislation there was going to be some reform in dealing
with crime, and he should think that Mr Farndale and Alderman Priestman,
Chairman of the Watch Committee, would probably be able to say that things were
so satisfactory in the city that they could make a reduction in the police
force. They had certainly been free from serious trouble for some time,
but they make no boast too much.
Alderman Priestman also
tended his congratulations and said that during his chairmanship of the Watch Committee
he had received most loyal support from the chief constable. The tone of the
force as a whole was set by him, and he was endeavouring to keep it as high as
possible....
Replying to the presentation
which was then made by the Lord Mayor, Mr Farndale said that during the 25
years of his police career he had been in many difficulties, but none so great
as the present one, for he did not know how to thank them enough. When he came
to Bradford he tried to maintain the principles that had guided his career;
justice without fear or favour, tempered when possible with mercy. He
referred to the difficulties of his post, and said he had tried to do his duty
not only as a Chief Constable but as a man. (Applause). It was being discovered
that the old system of punishment was practically the way to nowhere,
and they must adopt some other system of reform if they hoped to do
something for those unfortunate people who broke the law and came into the
courts of justice. Especially mentioning Mr. David Wade, to whom the idea
of the presentation was due, he thank them again for their kindness and
appreciation.
The presentation made to Mr
and Mrs Farndale by the city police, consisted of a solid silver epergne,
having four holders for flowers, with three sweet baskets hanging
from the centre piece; a pair of vases to match. All are of perfectly
plain, polished silver, decorated by rich piercings. The inscription richly
engraved near the top of the epergne is as follows: “Presented by the Bradford
City Police to the Chief Constable and Mrs Farndale to commemorate their silver
wedding 1883 - June 1st - 1906” and arms of the city on the reverse side while
the monogram of Mr Farndale is richly charred on the foot. This presentation
piece was designed and manufactured by Fattorini and sons, art and gold
silversmiths, Bradford.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
1 June 1908: FATTORINI
& SONS, BRADFORD. HAVE NOW ON VIEW. … Solid silver centrepiece, having four
flower vases and three sweet dishes, with pair flower vases to match, presented
by the Bradford City police to the Chief Constable J Farndale Esquire and Mrs
farndale. To commemorate their silver wedding. 1883 - June 1st - 1908.
The Wakefield ad West Riding
Herald, 6 June 1908: Mr Joseph Farndale, who is a native of Wakefield, being the
son of a Thornes Lane licenced victualler, celebrated his silver wedding on
Monday. He was married on the 1st of June 1883, to Emma, second daughter of
the late Mr. Williams Selby, Wakefield. During the day, Mr and Mrs Farndale
with the recipients of many handsome presents, including two solid silver
dessert stands from the city judges, and a solid silver epergne and pair of
vases from the members of the city police force. Mr Farndale’s uncle was chief
constable of Birmingham.
In August 1908, Joseph Farndale became involved in a significant
murder case.
The Yorkshire Post and Leeds
Intelligencer, 10 August 1908: THE BRADFORD MURDER CHARGE. ACCUSED AGAIN IN THE DOCK. John William
Ellwood, 44, agent, of Edinburgh Street, Bradford, who is charged with the
murder of Mr Thomas Wilkinson, Legrams Lane,
Bradford, cashier to Messrs Fieldhouse and Jarrett, dyers and sizers, appeared
on remand at the Bradford City court on Saturday, when the case was further
adjourned. During the short time prisoner was in the dock he seemed quite
composed and smiled as he descended to the cells. The chief constable, Mr. J
Farndale, asked the magistrates to remand Elwood further until Saturday next. It
was hoped that the coroner's inquiry would be completed before that date, when
the date could be fixed to suit the conveniences of the court, and the
representative of the public prosecutor....
The Shipley Times and Express,
21 August 1908:
THE BRADFORD OFFICE MURDER. ELLWOOD BEFORE THE MAGISTRATES. STARTLING
DEVELOPMENT. THE PRISONER IDENTIFIED. STORY OF THE CRIME RETOLD. After three
months, John William Ellwood, 41, insurance agent, of 68 Edinburgh Street, Listerhills, appeared again on Tuesday at the Bradford City
court on the charge of causing the death of Thomas Wilkinson at the office of
Messrs Fieldhouse and Jarrett in Swaize Street on
July 31st. The facts of the case are now fairly well known, for at the inquest
last week, when a verdict of wilful murder was brought against the prisoner,
the evidence was fully gone into. Witnesses told how they saw a man, thought
to be Ellwood, enter the office with a parcel like a poker with which the
crime was committed; how they saw him leave with without it, and walk away.
The evidence as to his subsequent movements was somewhat conflicting, but he is
believed to have been seen in various parts of the city, and have spoken about
the crime to his friends and acquaintances. The charge was that he did
feloniously, wilfully, and of his malice of forethought, kill and murder Thomas
Wilkinson on July 31st 1908. The accommodation of the court was filled to
its uttermost and hundreds were unable to gain admission. The prisoner’s wife
and a few friends lingered in the corridors outside. The magistrates present
were the stipendiary, Mr H W W Wilberforce ,... Mr CF
Lowenthall, of London, prosecuted. He was instructed
by Mr H R Watling. The police were represented by the Chief Constable Mr. J
Farndale and Chief Detective Inspector Tolbert. Mr C L Atkinson again defended.
Prisoner still unconcerned. When prisoner stepped into the dock he seemed as
unconcerned as ever. Throughout he appeared not to notice the people, who
were eyeing him keenly. He took a seat in the dock and made himself as
comfortable as possible...
The Nottingham Evening Post,
26 August 1908:
OFFICE MURDER. FURTHER EVIDENCE IN THE BRADFORD CASE. WHAT THE POST MORTEM
REVEALED. PRISONER COMMITTED FOR TRIAL. A further stage was reached in the
Bradford office murder trial today, when the Bradford City police court
before the stipendiary magistrate, Mr H W W
Wilberforce, John William Ellwood, aged 44, insurance agent, was brought up on
remand, charged with the wilful murder of Thomas Wilkinson, cashier, on Friday
July 31st, at the town office of messrs Fieldhouse
and Jarrett, dyers.... the first witness called was Dr FW Eurish Hony, physician at Bradford royal infirmary, who
spoke to conducting a post mortem examining of the body of Wilkinson on
Saturday, August 1st. He said there were five small bruises on the back of the
left wrist, a small bruise over the right kneecap, and a slight abrasion, with
bruising, on the right middle finger, the last joint of which was fractured.
There were also various other comparatively slight injuries over the right
shoulder and over the bridge of the nose. Two inches above the right ear there
was a triangular wound, penetrating to the covering of the bone behind, and
below this was a ragged incision, penetrating almost to the bone. Other
lacerations and incisions were minutely described by the witness, who said that
in many cases the bone was splintered
…Dr William Wrangham, Chief
Police Surgeon, also confirmed the post mortem evidence. He stated that he had
received from Chief Detective Inspector Talbot, the brown suit, produced, there
were twelve blood stains on the coat, two on the trousers, and one on the cap.
The poker produced also bore splashes and stains of blood... Detective Sergeant
Knowles said that on the night of July 31st, he received a communication from
the witness Pollard, and in inconsequence that he went to Edinburgh Street to
the house occupied by the prisoner at 4:45 the following morning. Prisoner, who
was only partly dressed, came downstairs and opened the door. Having admitted
the witness he went upstairs to finish dressing. The detective cautioned him,
and said, “I am going to apprehend you on suspicion of causing the death of
Thomas Wilkinson.” he replied, “I know nothing about it, but I will go with
you.” The witness then took him into custody, and removed him to the town hall,
where he was identified from among seven other prisoners by the witness
Pollard. After he had been thus identified the witness again cautioned and
charged him, with causing the death of Wilkinson. He made no reply, but folded
his arms and dropped his head. At this point the prisoner, who had been
accommodated with a seat in the dock, leaned forward to the witness and said “Speak
the truth, you liar!” Mr Atkinson his solicitor advised the prisoner to
make no comment on the evidence. Continuing, Detective Knowles said that in the
town hall he searched the prisoner and found amongst other properties 6 penny
postage stamps. These were all in one piece...
1909
The Yorkshire Evening Post, 1
January 1909: INCREASED
CRIME IN BRADFORD. RECORDER’S COMMENTS AT THE QUARTER SESSIONS TODAY. The
Bradford quarter sessions were commenced today, before the Recorder, Mr T R D
Wright, who was accompanied on the bench by the Lord Mayor, Mr. James Hill, and
the Chief Constable, Mr. J Farndale. In his charge to the grand jury, the
Recorder regretted that the return of the Chief Constable regarding the
indictable offences, and the number of persons procedeed
against in the past quarter, showed a considerable increase in both respects.
During the corresponding quarter of 80 days in the previous year, 310
indictable offences were reported, whilst in the past quarter of 84 days, the
number was 407, an increase of 97. The number of persons proceeded against
during the corresponding quarter in the previous year was 111, while in the
past quarter the number was 168, an increase of 57. Those figures were
regrettable, and the only comfort one could draw from them was that none of the
offences were serious. One hopes that the average might be made-up by a
corresponding decrease in the returns during the next quarter.
The Greenock Telegraph and
Clyde Shipping Gazette, 19 May 1909: COMMITTEE ON PETROLEUM SPIRIT. The departmental committee on petroleum
spirit met yesterday at the Home Office. Mr. J Farndale, Chief Constable at the
city of Bradford, gave details of the working of the Petroleum Acts in Bradford. Mr C MacDonald,
chief officer under the Petroleum Act for the city of Glasgow, considered that
officers of the local authority should have power to seize patrol petroleum
spirit under certain circumstances without warrant. Captain J de C Hamilton
RN, retired, Chief Officer of the London Fire Brigade, gave the requirements
which he considered should be insisted upon for petroleum spirit tank waggons
etc.
There was a tradition that a new Lord Mayor extended clemency to
the first person to appear before him. The Leeds Mercury, 18 November 1909: The Lord Mayor of Bradford, Alderman W
Land, made his official appearance at the City Court yesterday,
where he was welcomed by Mr W A Whitehead, senior magistrate.... after the
Chief Constable, Mr Joseph Farndale had spoken on behalf of the police, the
Lord Mayor said that whilst they as magistrates were always determined to
preserve justice and order, they were always desirous of tendering mercy in the
administration of justice. In accordance with custom, his lordship extended
clemency to the first person to appear before him, a tramp, who had been
arrested for begging, and was discharged.
1911
The Leeds Mercury, 10 February
1911: Chief
Constable’s Salary. The Watch Committee of Bradford Corporation have decided to
recommend the City Council to fix the maximum salary of the Chief Constable,
Mr Joseph Farndale, at £1,000 per annum to be reached by four annual advances
of £50 each, dating from April 1st next.
The Lancashire Evening Post,
15 February 1911:
Bradford City Council, yesterday, decided to increase the salary of the
Chief Constable (Mr Joseph Farndale) from £800 a year in four annual increments
of £50 to £1,000 a year, the first advance taking effect from April 1st
next.
The Leeds Mercury, 27 March
1911: BRADFORD
CITY’S WELCOME. SALOONS ALREADY IN DEMAND FOR THE CRYSTAL PALACE FINAL. After
the match at Bramall lane, the Bradford City players were entertained to
dinner at the Grand Hotel, Sheffield. There was the usual round of toasts, and
everyone was in a jubilant mood. The players afterwards drove to the Midland
station in taxis and reached Bradford at 10:00. It was anticipated that there
would be a large crowd to receive them, but the members of the city party were
astonished to find that the station was packed from wall to wall with
thousands of enthusiasts, the crowd overflowing into Forster square and
Market Street. Chief Constable Farndale was on the scene with a large posse
of police, who managed to preserve a narrow gangway view. Some of the
players were completely overwhelmed by the boisterous attentions of their
supporters, and were completely swallowed up in the crowd....
The 1911 Census, for 4 Fagley Villas, Ecclesfield,
Bradford listed Joseph Farndale, head, 46, Chief Constable, City of Bradford;
Emma Farndale, wife, 48 (27 years married); Florence Farndale, 26; Eveline
Farndale, 25; and Loffie Gibson, general domestic
servant.
A Wesleyan Mission was picked up for unlicensed singing and dancing. The Yorkshire Post, 5 April
1911: SATURDAY
CONCERTS IN A WESLEYAN MISSION HALL. A MUSIC LICENCE NECESSARY. Mr H W W Wilberforce, the Bradford stipendiary magistrate,
yesterday gave his decision in the case of the Chief Constable of Bradford v
Thomas Pratt. He said that it was alleged the defendant, as honorary
secretary, was using for the public music and singing, on Saturday evenings and
without a licence, a room in the Eastbrook hall, Bradford, a place registered
for religious service. The programmes showed that the concerts were opened
with hymn and prayer, and were followed by vocal and instrumental numbers,
reproductions of songs, cinemagraphic views, and even
occasional humorous items. The charge for admission was small, and there was no
attempt to secure a profit. The concerts were organised by Mr Nield, the
Wesleyan missioner, to provide innocent and
elevating recreation for persons who otherwise might be spending their Saturday
evenings in a worse fashion. The effort was laudable in the extreme, and
neither that court nor the justices who had been dealing with licences, would
put any undue obstacle in its way. The question he had to deal with was
whether this was public singing and entertainment of such character as to
require a licence? It had been contended that these concerts were really
religious services, but after seeing the programme, he did not think that could
be sustained in the ordinary meaning of the word ‘religious’. He hopes that
the application for a licence in this case would be nothing more than a mere
formality, but it must be gone through, if the concerts were to be
continued. Mr Trewavas, who appeared for the defendant,
asked for an adjournment, so the committee could consider their position. He
did not apprehend that the decision of the stipendiary would be challenged, but
they were near the end of their concert season, and it would be necessary to
consult the committee having charge of them, Eastbrook Hall not being run by
one man, but by a committee. The stipendiary said he had no doubt if it was
decided to apply for a licence in future, the chief constable would be willing
to withdraw the case on payment of costs, as it would be undesirable to record
a conviction against such a place. The Chief Constable, Mr Farndale, said
that the promoters of similar concepts in connection with other places of
worship in the city secured occasional licences, and the defendant could do the
same. These stipendiary said that if the defendant continued the concerts
during the period of adjournment without a licence, he would do so at his own
risk. Mr Trewavas said he would take the adjournment,
which was granted for three weeks.
The Nottingham and Midland
Catholic News, 27 May 1911: Chief Constable on its Practicability. The Bradford Chief
Constable, Mr. James (sic, recte, Joseph) Farndale,
writes: “I have read with much interest the copy of the proposed scheme of
the Leeds Catholic Diocesan Association for the aftercare of discharged
prisoners, and am of opinion that the object of the Association is most
commendable, while the method on which it is proposed to work appears to me
very practical,. I sincerely wish you success in the good work, and feel that
your efforts cannot fail to be productive of much good.
When his daughter married on 7 June 1911, Joseph and Emma lived at
Fagley Villas, Eccleshill, Bradford: PICKLES-FARNDALE. June 7th, at
Eccleshill Parish Church, by the Rev R B McKee, Charles, third son of the late
Benjamin Pickles, and Mrs Pickles, of Whetley Lane,
to Florence Selby, eldest daughter of Mr Joseph Farndale, Chief Constable, and
Mrs Farndale, of Fagley Villas, Eccleshill. At home, Jessamine Lodge, Undercliffe, August 2nd and 3rd. (Leeds Mercury, 12 June
1911).
The Leeds Mercury, 24 June
1911: BRADFORD’s
DECORATIONS. The decorations and illuminations at Bradford have
attracted so many visitors from the neighbouring towns that the Decorations
Committee has decided to continue the arrangements throughout next week.
Competent authorities who have seen the efforts of other towns, assert that the
Bradford show is without doubt the finest in the provinces. The fairy fountain
in Forster square has been the chief obstacle object of admiration. On Monday
and Tuesday the bands in the town hall and Forster square will be continued,
and if public appreciation is sufficiently promising the entertainment will be
extended over the remainder of the week. In spite of the immense crowds which
assembled to see the coronation procession in Bradford, the various ambulance
brigades in the city only dealt with about 50 cases of fainting. The chief
constable, Mr. J Farndale, stated that the conduct of the crowds was
exemplary, and he is more than satisfied. Between 11:00 in the morning and
midnight there was not a single arrest of any description. The tramway receipts
amounted to £1,394, as compared with a record of £1,700 for Easter Monday.
The Leeds Mercury, 14 August
1911: A police
constable named *, aged 25 years, of Dawson Street, Bradford, was charged
at the Bradford City court on Saturday with being drunk, and having assaulted
an old lady named Nanny Wood, 75 years of age, of Belloc Street. The Chief
Constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, said that *, who had only been a constable for
some five months, went home about 10:00 on the night of August 4th in a drunken
condition. He addressed the woman Wood in foul language, and struck her on the
chest. * was fined 2s 6d and 7s costs on the charge of drunkenness and £1 and
11s costs for the assault. On the request of the Chief Constable he was also
suspended from duty until a meeting of the police authority.
The Leeds Mercury, 14 November
1911: BRADFORD.
Chief Constable’s disclaimer. The chief constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, made an
explanation at the Bradford City court yesterday with regard to the recent lottery
prosecution in connection with the Glyde Beaumont Legal Defence Fund. He
pointed out that it had been alleged that the prosecution had singled out this
case from amongst others for some vindictive motive. He was in London when the
case was heard or he would have explained the procedure of the police in these
cases. Many similar cases came to their notice, but when the police drew
attention the attention of the promoters to the fact that they were illegal they
were usually withdrawn. Those responsible for the lottery in question did
not stop it when requested to do so; hence the subsequent proceedings.
These stipendiary magistrate said it was unfortunate that it was not stated at
the time, as he understood that the defendant had not been one. The chief
constable replied to that that was so; The lady who sold the tickets had not
been warned, but the promoters had.
1912
There was some mockery when Joseph Farndale laid down the rules for
boxing competitions in Bradford. The Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 10 February 1912: BOXING CONTESTS IN
BRADFORD. THE CHIEF CONSTABLE AND TRAINING IN PUBLIC HOUSES. … Boxing, 3 August 1912: It would also appear
that the proposed Blakeborough Kelly contest is to prove a fizzle. Up to the
time of writing no purse offers have come to hand, and it has now been set
forth that the men are prepared to engage in a contest under Mr Farndale's
rules. Ye gods! What are we coming to when we are already asked to submit
to the absurdity of seeing a grand sport like boxing carried out under the
rules as laid down by a man who knows nothing of the game? It is more than
an absurdity. It is monstrously unfair and totally un-English.
Whist drives were illegal. The Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 29 August 1912: THE CHIEF CONSTABLE OF
BRADFORD AND WHIST DRIVES. Mr J Farndale, has intimated that the decision that whist
drives at which prizes are played for are illegal will be acted upon in the
city. As a consequence those interested in whist drives, which were very
popular last winter, have formed a committee for mutual defence.
1913
The Leeds Mercury, 28 January
1913: YORKSHIRE
AUTO CLUB DINNER. CHIEF CONSTABLE AND RESTRICTIONS. A LEEDS WINDFALL. The
annual dinner of the Yorkshire Automobile Club was held at the Queens Hotel,
Leeds last night and the gathering was a very large and influential one....
Pulling the strings. Alderman Wiley proposed the toast of “the visitors” in the
characteristic speech. He said he was not going to pat the policeman on the
back at all. He thought they were an unmitigated nuisance to the motorist, and
he did not forget the chief constable who, pulled the strings of the
prosecutions to which the iniquitous motorists were from time to time subjected.
Mr. J Farndale, the chief constable of Bradford, responded to the toast.
There were problems with a carters’ strike in Bradford in 1913. The Leeds Mercury, 29 May 1913: STRIKE SCENES AT
BRADFORD. ENTIRE POLICE FORCE CALLED OUT. STREET FIGHTING. LORD MAYOR OFFERS
MEDIATION. HOPES OF SETTLEMENT.
Extraordinary scenes in connection with the carters strikes at
Bradford created a ferment of excitement in the principal streets of the
city during the greater part of yesterday. The Lord Mayor, who had been out of
town, returned to Bradford yesterday afternoon, and at once took steps with a
view to bringing about a settlement of the dispute. First he had a meeting at
the town hall with representatives of the Bradford Horse Owners Association,
coal merchants and consumers’ association, the Chamber of Trade and the
cooperative society. These gentlemen placed their views before his lordship,
and practically agreed to accept him as arbitrator. Later on, four
representatives of the Carter Union attended, and the Lord Mayor asked them if
they were prepared to leave the matter in his hands. The reply was in the
affirmative, providing the terms offered were reasonable….
POLICE PRECAUTIONS. CONVOYS
OF DRAYS ESCORTED THROUGH EXCITED CROWDS. When it became evident that there was
a danger of a prolonged struggle, the chief constable, Mr. J Farndale, in
response to an urgent request from mill owners and merchants, made
arrangements for an elaborate system of convoying goods under police escort
from the railway station depots to their respective destinations. The
appearance in the streets of large numbers of mounted police and the
parade of practically the whole of the police force caused large crowds to
gather, and these increased in the afternoon when the half
holiday released thousands of shopkeepers and shop assistants. Indeed
the strikers were completely outnumbered by sightseers who had turned out to
see the fun. At ten o’clock processions of drays, chiefly laden with
provisions, left the various depots. In each case mounted police led the
way, and also brought up the rear, whilst a single file of police on foot
walked on each side of the vehicles. There was a good deal of cheering and
hooting, and occasionally there were conflicts between the escorts and the
strikers, but the determined nature of the police arrangements and
the fact that three men who had been arrested in connection with Monday’s
disturbances had each been sentenced to three weeks hard labour, had the
desired effect....
The Shipley Times and Express,
30 May 1913:
WORK OF THE POLICE.
The police arrangements are
being very effectively carried out, the organisation at the headquarters being
efficient and complete. Nearly the whole of the available forces on duty, and
the rank and file are in readiness for any emergency at the town hall and at
the police quarters at Aldermanbury. The Chief Constable, Mr Joseph
Farndale, has a wonderful faith in his own men, and it is commendable to
note that he has not once considered the question of calling in outside help.
For some time there has been a working agreement between Bradford, Leeds and
Hull, by which it is possible for either of these authorities to summon
assistance at a few hours’ notice and under this agreement the Bradford
authority has already given help to other towns. Things would have come to a
very bad state indeed before the Bradford Chief Constable would think of
communicating with outsiders.
The Yorkshire Post and Leeds
Intelligencer, 6 June 1913: NOW ON VIEW. Solid silver cup, presented by Mrs. J Farndale
to the Bradford City Police Athletic Club for annual competition. Fattorini and
sons, 21 Kirkgate, Bradford. Valuers for probate. Telephone number 3061-2.
The police were called to deal with ‘Bradford’s big fire’ in 1913. The Leeds Mercury, 12
September 1913:
BRADFORD’S BIG FIRE. POLICE AND RUMOURS OF INCENDIARISM. Huge crowds
assembled in Cheapside to inspect the damage caused by the great Bradford
fire on Wednesday night. The fire assessors from the various insurance
companies concerned went over the building during the day, and having regard to
the valuable nature of stock, it was computed that the damage would probably reach
from £40,000 to £50,000. This is but one of a series of big fires in the
Bradford district this year. It will unfortunately be a record year, the
damage to date being somewhere near £250,000. Having regard to the large number
of disastrous outbreaks, the question of incendiaries has naturally arisen
in connection with the Cheapside fire. It was rumoured among certain
gentlemen who were present at the scene of the fire that an anonymous
communication had been received at the town hall threatening that other fires
would take place on certain dates. The Chief Constable, Mr Joseph Farndale,
has, however, flatly denied that any such communication has been received. The
detective force has made close investigations with a view to the possibility of
incendiaries, but there is no evidence in that direction. It appears that
all the doors of the building were securely locked at 7:45, and that the first
flame was seen at 9.5 (sic). All the windows and doors were intact when the
fire brigade arrived. Shortly after five o’clock last night an empty packing
case was found to be on fire in the churchyard of Cloth Mills, Manchester Road,
occupied by Messrs Armitage and Ibbetson. The fire was extinguished with a few
buckets of water, but about ten 10 minutes past nine o’clock, a second packing
case was found on fire outside the glass and China shop of Harry Jackson,
Manchester Road, quite close to Claugh Mills. Both
these outbreaks are attributed to the pranks of youthful incendiaries.
The
Shipley Times and Express, 19 September 1913: THE BRADFORD POLICE CUP FINAL. The final tie for the
Challenge Cup presented by Mrs Farndale, wife of the chief constable of
Bradford, Mr Joseph Farndale, for competition among the cricket clubs in
the Bradford City police force was played at Idle on Monday. … the trophy
was presented to the captain of the winning team, Inspector Turner, by Mrs
Pickles, daughter of the chief constable, Mrs Farndale being unable to be
present owing to indisposition. Mrs Farndale was thanked for the gift, and
Mrs Pickles for handing it to the winners, at the instance of Inspector
Cromwell, seconded by Detective Inspector Haugh. In the course of a few
remarks, Mr Farndale said he had greatly enjoyed the game, and although he
did not expect policeman to be cricketers first, and officers of the law
afterwards, they were all pleased to see them so active on the cricket field.
Amongst those present at the presentation were Inspector G S Walker, of Idle
and Mrs Walker.
1914
In January 1914,
Joseph Farndale was awarded the King’s Police Medal for Meritorious Service. The Daily Citizen
(Manchester), Aberdeen Press and Journal, Lancashire Evening Post, Manchester Courier, Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, Birmingham Daily Post, Sheffield Daily Telegraph, Newcastle Journal, 1
January 1914: NEW YEARS HONOURS … POLICE
MEDALS. The King’s Police Medal has been awarded to a number
of officers of the police forces and fire brigades in the United Kingdom and
Overseas Dominions. The rewards are made in recognition of meritorious
service or conspicuous gallantry. Among the England and Wales recipients
are … Chef Constable Joseph Farndale
(Bradford City Police) …
The Sheffield Independent, 1
January 1914: KING’S POLICE MEDAL.
HONOURS FOR YORKSHIRE OFFICERS. His Majesty has awarded the King’s
Police Medal to a number of officers … Chief Constable Joseph Farndale,
Bradford City Police …
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
1 January 1914: The fount of honour
has flowed very strongly in the Yorkshire Direction this New Year’s Day
… The only other honour is the granting of the police medal, a much coveted
honour in the service, to Mr Farndale, the Chief Constable of Bradford.. It has
been fairly earned, as anyone who compares our police force with what it
was antecedent to Mr Farndale’s coming will readily acknowledge. Mr
Farndale is one of the Chief Constables who have risen from the ranks.
His association with Bradford (writes a public official) has produced a higher
state of efficiency than ever previously known, and our police force has
earned the distinction of being one of the finest in the country. The
undesirable members have been gradually weeded out, and there are fewer cases
of over officiousness on the part of our police than at any other period. A
strict disciplinarian, Mr Farndale has succeeded in impressing the men under
his charge with a high ideal of their duty to the community, and the
Bradford policeman of today is quite a different person to the man of twenty or
thirty years ago. He is more of a friend than a person to be feared, and while
wrong doers are well looked after they are always treated with the greatest
consideration. The Bradford Chief Constable has shown himself capable of
handling difficult crowds, and his conduct during the serious trade disputes in
the city gained him general approval.
Somewhat ominously,
there followed the message: A Happy New Year to all our readers. There is no
reason why we shouldn’t take a cheerful view of 1914 …
BRADFORD CHIEF CONSTABLE. Congratulations from the Bench. Today
at the Police Court, the Stipendiary Magistrate (Mr W W
Wilberforce), addressing the Chief Constable (Mr Joseph Farndale) said: “I
congratulate you on your well earned honour. I am
sure it is only the first of many others. Chief Constable; I thank you.
The Yorkshire Evening News, 1
January 1914: KING’S POLICE MEDALS FOR
YORKSHIRE. Amongst the recipients of the King’s police medal for merit and
bravery are … Joseph Farndale, Chief Constable of Bradford City Police, with
thirty one years’ able and devoted service, for merit …
The Edinburgh Gazette, 2 January 1914. Whitehall, January 1 1914. His Majesty the
King has been graciously pleased to award the King's police medal to the
following officers of police forces and Fire Brigades in the United Kingdom,
Indian India, and his majesty's dominions beyond the seas: England and
Wales.... Joseph farndale, chief constable of the Bradford City police force.
Supplement to the London
Gazette, 30 March 1920. 3785. Joseph Farndale Esq chief constable Bradford City
police.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
3 January 1914:
THE HONOUR FOR THE BRADFORD POLICE CONSTABLE. The Bradford Watch Committee
met yesterday when a resolution was passed congratulating the Chief Constable
(Mr Joseph Farndale) on the conferment upon him of the King’s police medal … Mr
Farndale suitably acknowledged the compliment.
The Whitby Gazette, 9 January
1914: Mr
Joseph Farndale, the Chief Constable of he Bradford
City Police, was included in the New Year’s Honours List as a recipient of the
King’s Police Medal. He is a son of Mr W Farndale, and a nephew of Mr Joseph
Farndale, late Chief Constable of Birmingham, who was born in Egton. (Note
– in fact Joseph’s father was Thomas Farndale, the innkeeper of Wakefield).
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
3 February 1914:
The Chief Constable (Mr Joseph Farndale) has been commanded to attend an
investiture at Buckingham Palace on February 12th, when he will be
invested by King George with the Police Medal, an honour conferred upon him by
His Majesty at the beginning of the year.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
11 February 1914:
CHIEF CONSTABLE’S REPORT. In his annual report to the justices, the chief
constable, Mr Joseph farndale, said...
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
12 February 1914:
Bradford’s Chief Constable (Mr Joseph Farndale) attended at Buckingham
Palace today to receive the decoration of the King’s Medal for meritorious
police service. Mr Farndale has gained distinction among the head
constables of the country, and the Royal distinction is justly merited.
Telegrams congratulating Mr Farndale were dispatched to him this morning by the
Lord Mayor (Alderman Arnold), who was chairman of the Watch Committee up to his
election to the Lord Mayorality, and by Mr T Sowden,
the present chairman of that committee.
The Yorkshire Post and Leeds
Intelligencer, 12 February 1914: BREWSTER’S SESSIONS. COMPENSATION PAYMENTS AT BRADFORD. CHIEF
CONSTABLE AND THE EFFECT OF GOOD TRADE. The Bradford Brewster sessions were
held yesterday, Mr S P Myers presiding. The Chief Constable, Mr Joseph
Farndale, reported that there are 1,041 licences, compared with 1,052 in the
previous year … The chairman remarked that the report was not quite so good
as usual if the Chief Constable’s suggestion regarding the increased
drunkenness was correct, it certainly was a pity when people got more money
they got more drunk...
The Bradford Weekly Telegraph,
13 February 1914:
KING DISTRIBUTES HONOURS. The King held an investiture at Buckingham
Palace yesterday morning, when he personally bestowed the Insignia of the
various honours conferred at the New Year, and also gave the accolade of
knighthood to various knights.... amongst those rewarded awarded the Police
Medal was Mr J Farndale, the Bradford chief constable.
The Sheffield Daily Telegraph,
13 February 1914:
ROYAL INVENTITURE. The King held an investiture at Buckingham Palace
yesterday, when he personally bestowed the Insignia of various honours
conferred at the new year. His Majesty bestowed the Police Medal on members of
the police and fire brigade for distinguished service or conspicuous
gallantry, and a number of acts of bravery in saving life on the railway
were recognised by the bestowal of the Albert and Edward medals. Among the
recipients of the King's Police Medal were... Mr Joseph Farndale, chief
constable of the Bradford City police, 31 years service...
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
20 February 1914:
CHIEF CONSTABLE’S RECORD. COMPLIMENTS FROM THE BENCH. STIPENDIARY AND ROYAL
RECOGNITION. At the Bradford City Police Court this morning the chief
constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, was complemented by the bench on the honour
recently conferred upon him by His Majesty the King in the award of the
King’s Medal for meritorious conduct. The stipendiary magistrate presided, and
there were present Mr S P Myers, Mr W Tate, Mr JB Gordon, and Mr B Dobson.
Addressing the chief constable, the stipendiary magistrate said he had been
asked by the magistrates to congratulate him upon the distinction conferred
upon him by the Sovereign. “It is a great satisfaction to them”, he said,
“that the confidence we have always felt in your vigilance, integrity, and
discretion has been justified by royal approval.” “The position of the head of
the police force of a great city,” said Mr Wilberforce, “must always be one of
the one of extremely anxious responsibility, and that you have occupied that
position for so many years, with, I am told, an entire absence of any serious
or hostile criticism, is at once unusual and gratifying. The public are
sometimes a little suspicious of an
interchange of compliments between the bench and the police, and I hope I
am justified in saying that the opinion of the bench is shared by the community
at large. (Hear, Hear). The City, I hope, will long enjoy the benefit of your
service.” Mr C L Atkinson, on behalf of the members of the bar, associated
himself with the remarks of the stipendiary magistrate. The chief constable,
who was wearing the King’s Medal, expressed his sincere thanks for the generous
congratulations extended to him for an honour of which any chief constable had
a right to be proud. It came to but a few heads of the police forces, and fortunately
for him he had been chosen to receive it for doing what the king commanded, to
guard his people. 31 years was a long time to be in the public eye,
and to be responsible for the peace, good rule, and government at the boroughs
and cities in which he had served. The ordinary business of the court was then
preceded with.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
26 March 1914: REFERENCE
AT THE POLICE COURT. For the commencement of the ordinary business at the
Bradford Police Court today, the Lord Mayor, Alderman John Arnold, referred to
the appointment of the stipendiary magistrate, Mr H W W
Wilberforce, as metropolitan magistrate. It was with mixed feelings, he said
that he rose to express the deep regret which was felt by all at losing Mr
Wilberforce as step entry magistrate... Mr Joseph Farndale endorsed the remarks
of the Lord Mayor, and the ordinary business of the court was preceded with.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
6 April 1914: The
Lord Mayor had several engagements for this week. Tomorrow he presides over the
meeting at the City Council. On Wednesday he takes the chair at the annual
meeting of the charity organisation society to be held at the town hall and
afterwards he is to make a presentation to the chief constable, Mr. J
Farndale, on behalf of the officers and men of the police force, who are
not only desirous of showing appreciation of the recent awards to him of the
King's Medal, but also of his deep interest in their welfare.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
9 April 1914: POLICE
CHIEF. DISTINCTION FOR MR FARNDALE. KING’S POLIUCE MEDAL. CONGRATULATIONS FROM
CITY FORCE. The Bradford City police force yesterday honoured their chief
constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, by presenting him with a silver reading lamp
to commemorate the recent distinction conferred upon him by the King, when
he was the recipient of the King's police medal. The ceremony took place at the
Bellevue barracks, every department of the service being represented. The
presentation was made by the Lord Mayor, Alderman John Arnold, the chairman of
the Watch Committee, Councillor Thomas Sowden, presided, and he was supported
by councillors...
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
9 April 1914: WATCH
CHAIRMAN’S SPEECH. Councillor Sowden said the occasion was quite unique in
character, and it was a tribute to the police force of the city that they
should show their appreciation of the chief constable in the manner they
were doing. It was 14 years since Mr Farndale came to Bradford, and since then
many changes had taken place in the police service. The force when Mr Farndale
took charge was 391 strong; Today it was full 448. The scale of pay had
twice been revised on the recommendation of the chief, and in addition many
facilities had been provided for the men to profit themselves for the ever
increasing duties which they had to perform, including classes on police duty,
first aid to the injured, lifesaving, and jujitsu instruction. Of the many
occasions that had been granted, the most noteworthy was that of one days rest
in seven. (Applause). Neither had the recreation of the force being overlooked,
and of all the innovations made by the chief constable one of the most
appreciated by the general public was that of the police band. He
understood, proceeded councillor Sowden, that it was 31 years since Mr
Farndale’s first appointment in a police force, that being at Halifax. After
gaining promotion to successive grades of service he was, in 1895, appointed
chief constable of Margate. At that time he was 29 years of age, and the
youngest man in England holding such an honourable position. Four years later
he was appointed chief constable of York, and three years later Bradford
secured him. “I don't think we have ever had to regret that appointment,”
concluded councillor Sowden.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
9 April 1914:
POLICE CHIEF. DISTINCTION
FOR MR FARNDALE. KING’S POILICE MEDAL. CONGRATULATIONS FROM CITY FORCE.
The Bradford City police
force yesterday honoured their chief constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, by
presenting him with a silver reading lamp to commemorate the recent
distinction conferred upon him by the King, when he was the recipient of the
King's Police Medal...
Watch Chairman's speech.
Councillor Sowden said that the occasion was quite unique in character...
Glowing tribute by officers.
Glowing tributes as to the chief constable's work in Bradford were
forthcoming from several officers who formally asked the Lord Mayor to make
the presentation. Police Constable Davie remarked that since the Chief
took office he had proved himself their best friend. They now get paid
for overtime, a concession very few expected. He recalled special occasions
when officers had to work 12 and 14 hours a day without anything to call. That
was not so now.... Sergeant Gail, of the detective department, said he
found the Chief to be an officer and a gentleman. Inspector Coleman, Chief
Inspector Naylor, and Inspector Cromwell followed, the latter remarking on the
personal interest which the Chief took in his men, and he was willing to
give advice. Superintendent White, who held office when the chief
constable came to Bradford, said many beneficial improvements had been made. In
the old days a recruit after being given his clothes, was shown around the
beat and then left to find his way as best he could. Today he was first
trained for his duty... Lord Mayor’s Esteem. In making the presentation, the
Lord Mayor said no one had greater respect for the chief constable than he had
and he was pleased the force had shown their esteem in the manner that they
had... Mr Farndale, in acknowledgement, said he accepted the gift as a
token of goodwill between him and the subscribers. It was a difficult task to
control a large body of men from which the public expected so much and at the
same time retain their goodwill and feelings, but at all times he felt
satisfied that that existed to the full in the Bradford force. Words fail to
express how deeply he appreciated the honour...
By the way, Mr Farndale
told two good stories of his early career.
It was during the time when
the recruit did not receive any preliminary instructions. He was simply shown
his beat and told how long he had to remain there. One “raw ‘un”, was informed
that in eight hours he was expected to walk round eight times. He started on
his duty like a professional walker, and then returned to the Town Hall. The
Inspector asked him why he was not on his beat. The recruit’s reply was: “Well,
I was told to walk round eight times, and I have done it, so I am going home.”
There is a similarity in the
story about the recruit who was supposed to be on duty one very wild wintry
night. When the Sergeant visited the beat he could
not find the new constable, and eventually visited the man's home. He knocked
at the door and the recruit’s head soon appeared at the bedroom window. Of
course, he asked him why he was not on the beat, and was forced to laugh when
the recruit answered, “But, Sergeant, there's no one aht;
I thought it was no use me stopping aht a neet like this.”
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
28 April 1914: PRESENTATION
BY THE WATCH COMMITTEE. Chief Constable of Bradford, Mr Joseph Farndale, was
today entertained to lunch and by the Corporation Watch Committee at the Town
Hall in recognition of the distinction recently confirmed upon him by being
presented with the kings medal...
July 1914 saw a campaign against bad language by children in
Bradford.
The Dundee
Evening Telegraph, 6 July 1914: CHILDREN URGED TO USE FOUL LANGUAGE. References to drunkenness,
foul language, and kindred vices in the city of Bradford were made by the Chief
Constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, presiding over a meeting of 2,500 men in
connection with Eastbrook hall, Wesleyan mission. The Chief Constable appealed
to the men present to use all their influence in support of the temperance
cause at Bradford. He regretted that his figures with regard to drink
showed some increase, but he hoped that was not to be taken as a criterion of
the insobriety of the city. There was another problem, the problem of
Bradford’s young people, which was a very grave one. He trusted that the
present purity crusade in the city would bear abundant fruit, because he was
satisfied that there were was great need for such a campaign, especially among
young people. (Hear, Hear). The bad language indulged in by sections of the
citizens was deplorable. A particularly painful case came up in the Police
Court recently. An individual took a child of about five summers up to a
constable in the street and insisted upon the child using some very obscene
language to the officer. The constable very properly took the man into
custody, and he got the punishment he deserved. In conclusion, Mr Farndale
urged the men of the Eastbrook mission to do all they could to put an end to
the filthy language in Bradford.
The Bradford Weekly Telegraph,
10 July 1914: MR
FARNDALE: I consider a tour of Great Britain, with a lecture on “Bad
Language in big cities; its curse and cure”, would be a pleasant relief
from the constant cares of Chief Constableship.
BRUTES WHO INFEST PUBLIC
PARKS. A BRADFORD SUGGESTION. The Bradford authorities are now very keenly
alert about the protection of the children who, while on holidays are on while
the holidays are on colour spend their time in the parks. It is well known that
a certain class of men infest parks where their conduct is a serious danger to
children.... Sir Arthur Godwin, formerly a member of the City Council, has
interested himself in the question. He has two objections to the employment of men
to protect women and children. His first is that the evidence the evil doers
are very circumstance in their behaviour if they notice a man insight, and
secondly, women and children are naturally averse to confide their troubles to
a man full.... The chief constable, Mr. J Farndale, did not care to express any
opinion with regard to the suggestion...
World War 1 broke out on 28
July 1914 (but it would be ‘all over by Christmas”
…).
The Bradford
Daily Telegraph, 25 September 1914: Last night a number of us were
duly sworn in as special constables for the city of Bradford, but there is one
little point upon which the members of the unpaid brigade are a little
exercised in their minds. The chief constable explained that if, and when,
we were called upon for active service, and there was good reason to hope that
there would be no necessity for anything of the sort, we should receive
badges of office, but, unless we misunderstood him, we shall get nothing of
the kind until that day shall arrive. A question was addressed to Chief
Constable Farndale on the point, but his answer was not quite clear.
Very soon after the outbreak of War, Regulations were made in
Defence of the Realm.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph, 30 September 1914:
City of Bradford. Defence
of the Realm Act, 1914.
Notice is hereby given that the
Secretary of State has, by order, extended the area in which the Regulation
here under set out is to be enforced to the whole of the United Kingdom. The
regulation will therefore be forthwith strictly enforced within the city.
The regulation is as follows: “No
person shall in any area which may be prescribed by order of a Secretary of
State keep or have in his possession any carrier or homing pigeons,
unless he is obtained from the Chief Officer of the Police of the district a
permit for the purpose, which permit may at any time be revoked, and the Chief
Constable of Police may, if he considers it necessary or expedient to do so,
cause any pigeons kept in contravention of this regulation to be liberated.”
By order Joseph Farndale, Chief
Constable.
The Defence of the Realm
Act 1914 gave the government wide ranging powers during the War, such as the
power to requisition buildings or land needed for the war effort, or to make
regulations creating criminal offences. The Act also conferred power to make
Regulations during the War for the Defence of the Realm.
By October 19154, a Bradford Detective, the only Jewish policeman
in the country at the time, was wounded on the Marne and died of his wounds. The Leeds
Mercury, 6 October 1914: BRADFORD DETECTIVE KILLED. News has reached
Bradford of the death of Maxwell Solomon, who before he went to the front was a
Detective Officer in the Bradford City police force, and believed to be the
only Jew policeman in the country. Solomon was of great value owing to his
ability as a linguist. Before he joined the Force he was in the 1st Battalion
of the Scots Guards, and on the outbreak of war went out with the first
Expeditionary force. He faught at Mons, and on the
Marne, and received war wounds on the 17th of September, to which he has
succumbed in hospital. The Chief Constable of Bradford, Mr Joseph Farndale,
personally visited Leeds in order to express to Solomon’s wife the sympathy of
the Bradford police. Mrs Solomon lives with her mother in Richmond Road,
Leeds.
That same month, Bradford received hundreds of Belgian refugees. The Shipley
Times and Express, 16 October 1914: BELGIAN REFUGEES ARRIVE IN
BRADFORD. A REAL YORKSHIRE WELCOME. AT HOME AT THE CENTRAL BATHS. Amazing
street scenes marked the arrival in Bradford last night of 230 Belgian
refugees. It is indeed, to be questioned whether on any previous occasion
the heart of the city has presented such a sight as it did in this instant, and
it is doubly doubtful whether the people themselves have ever been stirred to
such sympathy as has been aroused by the victims of the modern Attila and his
hordes... The Lord Mayor welcomed. … The station was packed with people who had
managed to elude the directions that only passengers by local trains should be
admitted and on the platform was gathered a representative company of citizens
including the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress... Mr. J Farndale, chief
constable...
The Bradford
Daily Telegraph, 24 October 1914: BELGIAN REFUGEES. ANOTHER PARTY
ARRIVE IN BRADFORD. A WARM WELCOME. Another party of Belgian refugees
arrived in Bradford last evening. Though the time of arrival had been a well kept secret a large crowd of people assembled in the
centre of the city to give them a welcome... a large detachment of Boy Scouts
formed an escort on the police station and the party were officially welcomed
by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress... the chief constable, Mr Joseph
Farndale...
The Yorkshire
Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 28 October 1914: REFUGEES IN THE NORTH Bradford
last evening welcome to the third batch of Belgian refugees. There were
44 in all, bringing the number now comfortably housed in the city up to
about 300. Most of the yesterday's contingent were factory hands, porters,
and their families. Those on the station to welcome the refugees included the
Lord Mayor... and the chief constable Mr. J Farndale...
The Bradford Daily
Telegraph, 16 October 1914:
CITY OF BRADFORD
ALIENS RESTRICTION (CONSOLIDATION) ORDER
1914
ALIENS RESTRICTION (CHARNGE OF NAME)
ORDER 1914
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN of the provisions
of the Aliens Restriction (Change of Names Order)
1914 extending and amending the Aliens
Restriction (Consolidation) Order 1914.
1.
The
following article shall be inserted after Article 25 of the Principal Order: -
“25a.An alien enemy shall not, after the 12th day of October nineteen hundred
and fourteen, for any purpose assume or use, or purport to assume or use, or
continue the assumption or use of any name other than that by which he was
ordinarily known at the date of the commencement of the war.
Where an alien enemy carries on or
purports who continues to carry on, or is a member of a partnership or firm
which carries on or purports or continues to carry on any trade or business
under any name other than that which the trade or business was carried on the
date of the commencement of the war, he shall, for the purposes of this order,
be deemed to be using or purporting or continuing to use a name other than that
by which he was ordinarily known at the date of commencement of the war.
Nothing in this article shall affect the
right of a woman who after the commencement of the war marries an alien enemy
to use the name which she acquires on her marriage.
A
Secretary of State may, if it appears desirable in any particular case, granted
exemption from the provisions of this article.”
2.
In
Article 20 of the Principal Order, the word “Order” shall be substituted by the
word “Act”.
3.
This
order may be cited as the Aliens Restriction
(Change of Names Order) 1914.
Dated this 15th day of October 1914.
Joseph Farndale, Chief Constable,
Central Police Office, Town Hall, Bradford.
The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
20 October 1914: “TERRIERS’
“ COLOURS HANDED OVER TO THE LORD MAYOR. STIRRING CEREMONY IN BRADFORD The
sound of bugles and the sight of a large company of khaki clad men marching
through the streets attracted the attention of Bradford citizens for this
morning, and a big crowd followed the soldiers to the town hall square to see
the ceremony which was performed there. And well rewarded, too, they were, for
they saw a smart parade and a military function of an unusual character. The
soldiers were the men of the 6th Reserve Battalion of the West Yorkshire
Regiment, and the object of their special parade, was the handing over
of the colours of the 6th Battalion to the Lord Mayor for safekeeping. On
arriving in the square, the men, who were under command of the Lieutenant Colonel
Hastings, with Major Speight, commander of the depot, and Captain WPM Scott,
formed up as three sides of a square round the main entrance of the town hall,
with the bugles to the right and the colour party, consisting of Lieutenant
Appleby, Lieutenant Fell, Sergeant Major Brough, Colour Sergeant Johnson,
Colour Sergeant Gavirts, and Colour Sergeant Kemp all
in full dress uniform, in the centre, with the two regimental banners. On the
town hall steps a large number of representative citizens had assembled amongst
others present being... the Chief Constable, Mr. J Farndale...
The Bradford
Daily Telegraph, 26 October 1914: NOT A CIRCUS PARADE’. AIMS OF
VOLUNTEER FORCE. SERIOUS DRILLING FOR SERIOUS BUSINESS. CITY HEADQUARTERS
OPENED. The opening of the new headquarters of the Bradford City Volunteer
Force in Leeds Road by the Lord Mayor, Alderman John Arnold, this morning
constituted a very notable function. Councillor John bland presided, and he was
supported by... the Chief Constable Mr Joseph Farndale...
By November 1914, licensing hour restrictions
during wartime were being considered. The Bradford Daily Telegraph, 4 November 1914: PUBLIC HOUSE HOURS. BRADFORD
LICENSING JUSTICES’ DECISION. NO CURTAILMENT FOR CIVILIANS. CHIEF CONSTABLE AND
A SATISFACTORY ARRANGEMENT. At the weekly sitting of the Bradford licencing
justices at the town hall this morning, Mr S P Myers presiding, reference was
made to the hours during which licenced houses remain open and the hours
during which soldiers may be served. Mr W A Whitehead, addressing the chief
constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, asked if he was prepared to make his statement
with regard to the city since the outbreak of the war. The Chief Constable, in
reply, said, as requested, he had to report that during the last three months
since the outbreak of war, August, September, and October, the number of
persons proceeded against was as follows:... That proved that the condition
of things was satisfactory, and that the state of drunkenness during this
exciting time was normal. He might say, as the justices were aware, that
recent legislation in licencing matters gave him the power, if he found it
essential at any time, to apply to the justices for a restriction of the hours
of sale of intoxicating liquors in public houses and clubs. He might say,
however, that he had no intention of doing that, having regard first to
the state of drunkenness as shown by the returns, and further because the
licence holders of the city had, in conjunction with the commanding officers, representing
the military authorities, agreed to certain restricted hours for the serving of
soldiers.
The Leeds
Mercury, 5 November 1914: PUBLICANS AND SOLDIERS’ DRINKS.
ARRANGEMENTS WITH ARMY AUTHORITIES. ACTION AT BRADFORD. The question of
restricting the hours at which licenced houses may remain open in Bradford came
before the Bradford licencing justices yesterday. The chairman, Mr SP Myers,
asked the chief constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, to give a report relating to the
sobriety in the city during the war...
Joseph Farndale was not a fan on restrictions on football which
were being proposed. He felt that the absence of events such as football
matches tended to cause more drunkenness. The Bradford Daily Telegraph,
26 November 1914: Interviewed this morning by a member of our staff
on the question of the effect which the stopping of football would be likely
to have on the amount of drinking in this city, Mr. J Farndale, the chief
constable, had no objection to discussing the matter. He had always, he
reminded his interview, expressed strong views that the interest taken in
football had done a great deal to decrease drinking in Bradford, more
particularly among the working classes. Upon that he was emphatic. While he
wished it to be understood that he expressed no opinion whatever on the present
crusade against the game, he agreed that if it was stopped, it would not be
without its effect on the city. Formerly, before football gained the hold it
now had upon the people, working men went from their work on a Saturday
afternoon straight to the public houses, still in their working clothes, and
there they would ‘stand their corners’, with results which would be obvious,
and too often it would mean that they would forget (?) to take their wages home.
The Star
Green ‘un, 28 November 1914: FOOTBALL AND DRINK. BRADFORD CHIEF
CONSTABLE SAYS STOPPAGE OF GAME WOULD LEAD TO DRUNKENNESS. As is well known the
chief constable of Bradford, Mr. J Farndale, has more than once declared that
the football matches on Saturday afternoons had the effect of reducing
drunkenness. In an interview this week he declared that it was a remarkable
thing that one very rarely saw a man at a football match in his working clothes.
He went straight home from his work, had a wash, changed his clothes, left his
money at home like a decent fellow, and then went off to the match. The chief
constable made it clear that he had nothing whatever to say on the question of
the present crusade for stopping the game, but, speaking simply from the point
of view of the effect of football upon drinking and drunkenness, he would be
very sorry to see football stopped as he feared that it would mean a return
to the old ways on the part of many working men supporters of football from.
The Yorkshire Post, 23
December 1914: CRIMEAN
VETERANS ENTERTAINED AT BRADFORD. The Lord Mayor of Bradford, Alderman G H
Robinson, following the usual precedent at Christmas time, entertained the
Crimean, Indian mutiny, and other military and naval veterans at the town hall
yesterday. about two dozen being able to partake of his hospitality. They
were also presented with a gift of money. Among those present in addition to
the Lord Mayor were... the chief constable, Mr. J Farndale.
1915
In January 1915, restrictions on drinking hours
were imposed. The Leeds
Mercury, 22 January 1915: NO
DRINK AFTER NINE. BRADFORD POLICE CHIEF AND CLOSING ORDER. From our Own
Correspondent. The early closing of public houses at Bradford, in
accordance with an order issued by the military authorities, began amid many
protests and much discussion. Confusion has arisen as to the extent exact
meaning of the order, especially on the point as to whether licences were
allowed to keep open their houses after 9pm, the hour prescribed in the order
for the suspension of the sale of intoxicants, for the sale of non intoxicants and food. Another point is whether
extension of hours would be granted by magistrates to hotel keepers catering
for public dinners. The chief constable of Bradford, Mr Joseph Farndale, asked
yesterday by the Mercury correspondent to clear up these points, said the Justices
had decided that they would not grant any extension of hours for any purpose
whatever. In the case of a dinner being held at a hotel, the guests must
cease to consume intoxicants at 9pm, but they may remain till 11pm to smoke,
make speeches, or drink non intoxicants. As to the obligation to close public
houses altogether at 9pm, Mr Farndale said that licence holders were not bound
to do so by law, but he should think, that as a matter of policy they would be
well advised to close their doors at that hour. The Bradford Wine, Beer and
Spirit Trades Protection and Benevolent Association, which has a membership of
300, have decided to close their doors at 9pm while the order is in force.
The Whitby
Gazette, 5 February 1915: “One of the greatest factors in the success
of the Volunteer movement in Bradford Has been” says the Volunteer Gazette, “the
cooperation of the chief constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, nephew of the late
Mr Joseph farndale, chief constable of Birmingham, a native of Whitby, who
placed at the disposal of the executive a number of men specially efficient in
drill. Every drill station opened with a policeman instructor in charge.”
The Leeds
Mercury, 21 April 1915: BRADFORD POLICE AND WAR. The Annual Report
of the chief constable of Bradford, Mr Joseph Farndale, was yesterday
issued to members of the watch committee. This indicates that 1 Sergeant and 11
constables, all ex-army NCOs, have been lent to the army's instructors. Two
army reservists, who were members of the force, have died whilst on active
service, and three are prisoners of war in Germany. The report points out that the
duties of the police have been considerably increased since the outbreak of the
war, and especially in connection with the
Aliens Restriction Act and the Defence of
the Realm Act. A first police reserve, consisting of men willing to
serve should necessity arise, have been enrolled, and a second police reserve
of special constables in two classes, paid and unpaid, has been formed.
The Leeds
Mercury, 3 May 1915: MAY DAY FESTIVALS. BRADFORD RAISES FUNDS FOR
ARMY HORSES. The advent of May was celebrated at Bradford by a well organised
effort to raise funds for the care of sick and wounded horses at the front.
It was promoted by the Bradford branch of the RSPCA, with cordial assistance of
the Lord Mayor, Alderman G H Robinson. For a considerable time past a loyal
band of workers had been hard at work making red, white and blue favours, with
a miniature horseshoe at the centre, and on Saturday 1,500 lady collectors
distributed these in return for contributions. Judging by the numbers number of
these appropriate decorations worn as the day advanced, a handsome sum must
have been collected. The principal event of the day was a parade of horses and
trade exhibits arranged by officials of this Chamber of trade. This was
marshalled under the direction of the chief constable, Mr. J Farndale...
The Yorkshire
Post, 29 May 1915: THE DEATH OF A PRISONER IN GERMANY. The chief
constable of Bradford, Mr. J Farndale, has received a communication from the
officer in charge of prisoners of war at Gustrow,
Germany, stating that Fred Harrison, a prisoner, there, died on April 30th. The
chief constable is requested to inform any relatives of the man, of the matter,
but no member of the Bradford police force of the name of Fred Harrison has
been serving with the forces in France.
The Yorkshire
Evening Post, 4 June 1915: A BRADFORD SOLDIER SENT TO GAOL. At the
Bradford City police caught today, Private *, 27, a member of the 6th Battalion
West Yorkshire regiment, pleaded guilty to three charges of obtaining food
by false pretences. He went to three houses where borders were kept, and on
the false representation that he had come from various places to act as a drill
instructor at Bellevue barracks, he obtained food for several days. It appeared
that the prisoner had been convicted of stealing an overcoat 1912. He joined
the 6th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment in January this year, and has been
before the court on one occasion for being an absentee. The chief constable,
Mr. J Farndale, stated that if the man's previous convictions had been known he
would not have been allowed to join the army. The prisoner was sent to gaol for
one month.
A captured German Field Gun was proudly paraded through Bradford in
December 1915. The Yorkshire Post, 21 December 1915: A CAPTIVE
GERMAN GUN’S RECEPTION AT BRADFORD. A 77 mm German field gun captured at the
battle of Loos is to be an exhibition in front of the town hall at Bradford
from tomorrow for some days. The reception of the gun is to be made the
occasion of a public ceremony. At the city boundary at Thornbury there will be
a procession formed for accompanying the gun to the city square. The procession
will be headed by mounted police, who will be followed by the police band, 24
mounted men, and 130 on foot of the Army Service Corps at Bradford Moor
Barracks, the Lord Mayor, Mr. T Haworth mounted, and wearing the uniform of the
Bradford City volunteer force, who will be accompanied by Major Hazlerigg,
commanding the depot, ASC, at Bradford more barracks, and Major Priestley,
commanding the 3-2 West Riding Brigade RFA, and the Chief Constable, Mr Joseph
Farndale...
1916
Joseph Farndale did not object to policemen attesting into the Army. The Yorkshire
Evening Post, 18 January 1916: RECRUITING SLOW IN LEEDS. BRADFORD
POLICE TO ATTEST. Group enlistments fell off considerably in Leeds today,
and the change was somewhat unexpected after the briskness which marked
recruiting yesterday. Quite a large number of Leeds men are joining the Royal
Navy division. Recruits who have enrolled in the Army Reserve groups are
allowed the privilege of transferring into the Royal Navy division. Today is
the last date on which men of groups 6, 7, 8 and 9 may lodge claims for
postponement of service, and the offices of the local tribunal in Great
George Street will remain open until 9pm this evening for the reception of
claims. Already a very large number have been lodged. The tribunal is still
occupied with the consideration of the affairs of men in the first full groups.
At Bradford today recruiting under the Derby scheme was brisker than
yesterday, but married men still preponderate. The chief constable, Mr
Joseph Farndale, having received from headquarters the guarantees necessary to
him in regards to the maintenance of the efficiency of service, has given
his permission to all eligible members of the force to attest.
The Leeds
Mercury, 10 February 1916: MANY PUBLIC HOUSES. ELEVEN BEERHOUSE
LICENSES ‘REFERRED’ AT BRADFORD. At the Bradford town hall yesterday the annual
Brewster session was held, Mr W A Whitehead presiding. The chief constable, Mr
Joseph Farndale, in his annual report, said that during 1915 there were 909
persons proceeded against for drunkenness … The chairman pointed out that there
were 1,000 licences in Bradford, and that half of them were grocers’ licences.
The figures with regard to drunkenness could not be regarded as satisfactory,
because 999 persons were preceded against in 1915 as compared with 791 persons
in 19 12 and 739 in 1911. Personally, he had been reluctantly forced to adopt
the view by the express by the chief constable at the last Brewster sessions,
when he said that good trade and increased spending led, among certain
classes, which he believed to be small, to an increase in drunkenness....
Patriotism was encouraged in Bradford at the second anniversary of
the outbreak of War.
The Leeds Mercury, 5 August 1916: DETERMINATION
OF THE PUBLIC. VICTORY MUST BE WON AT ALL COSTS. WAR ANNIVERSARY
DEMONSTARTIONS. Yesterday was the second anniversary of the declaration of
the war, and the occasion was marked in many towns by public gatherings, at
which the determination of the people to carry on the fight to victory found
expression. Several thousands of citizens in Bradford assembled in front of
the town hall yesterday afternoon, for the purpose of participating in a
demonstration of determination to continue the war to a victorious end.
Above the main entrance flags of the allies were draped and beneath was a large
platform on which work there were assembled the Lord Mayor, Mr Thomas
Haworth... The chief constable, Mr Joseph Farndale,...
The Leeds
Mercury, 6 October 1916: PRINCESS MARIE LOUISE INSPECTS BRADFORD’S
WAR ACTIVITIES. A party of distinguished people accompanied Princess Mary
Louise on her tour of Bradford’s war activities yesterday. Our picture shows
the visitors grouped beside the YMCA. The chief constable, Mr. J farndale
is on the left.
A difficult conundrum arose as to whether tripe constituted ‘newly
cooked food’. The Yorkshire Post, 23 December 1916: TRIPE AFTER
EIGHT PM: PROBLEM FOR THE BRADFORD STIPENDIARY. At Bradford yesterday, *, tribe
dealer, of 148 Westgate, was summoned for keeping his shop open after 8pm in
the evening. The chief constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, who prosecuted, said it
was a case of selling tripe, and it would be for the bench to decide whether or
not tripe was a ‘newly cooked provision’. His submission was that the term
‘newly cooked’ applied only to provisions in a hot or nearly hot state. The
term ‘newly cooked’ had not been defined in the Order. In his district tripe
was cooked at least 12 hours before it was sold, and he therefore submitted
that it was not a ‘newly cooked food.’
1917
There was a tram crash in 1917. The Leeds Mercury, 9 January
1917: ALARMING TRAM SMASH AT WYKE. LADY CONDUCTOR’S TERRIBLE
EXPERIENCE. 22 PERSONS INJURED. Great alarm was created at Wyke, on the
outskirts of Bradford, in the early hours of yesterday morning by a tramcar
smash on the Wyke to Balin Bridge section of the Bradford corporation tramways.
An empty car was standing opposite Wyke council station about 7am, when, for
some unaccountable reason, it started to run down Wyke bank. It soon developed
an alarming speed, and when near the Red Lion Hotel, it crashed into another
car proceeding towards Balin Bridge. The later car was partly filled with
work people from the Wyke district, most of them were miners, and there were
also a few women. On the rear platform was the lady conductor, Jenny Regan, and
there were also a number of men seated outside the covered portion of the top
deck. Miraculous escapes. They were all taken completely by surprise when
the runaway smashed into them and completely wrecked the rear platform.
Miss Regan was in the most perilous position, and was thrown violently into the
road, while the men at the rear on the top were pinned fast. It was remarkable
that none of them were killed outright, and when the sensation subsided and
assistance was secured it transpired that there were no fewer than 20 cases of
serious injury. It was dark at the time and that made matters worse, but the
residents of Coley View, which is immediately opposite the scene of the
collision, and also the occupants of the Red Lion Hotel, at once did all in
their power to alleviate the sufferings of the injured. Chief constable
Farndale, Police Inspector Lilingwerta, and a number
of men from low Moor police station soon arrived, together with …
Fortunately there was a good supply of first aid requisites nearby in a hut
provided by a firm of motor car dealers, and later on ambulances arrived from
Brighouse and Bradford....
The Leeds
Mercury, 12 May 1917: Mr Farndale, Chief Constable of Bradford,
speaking from thirty three years experience of the
drunkard, said that he had come to the conclusion that the latter was prepared
at all times to make some excuse for getting drunk. He never blamed himself for
his drunkenness, but always complained of family troubles or his friends, or
some other imaginary cause.
TABLET MEMORIAL TO BRAVE BRADFGORD
FIREMEN. This group of members of the Bradford fire brigade and licencing
committee, together with men of the brigade, was photographed on Monday evening
at the Bradford fire station, where the bronze tablet was unveiled in memory of
the heroic conduct of the firemen last August, on the occasion of a disaster
at the Yorkshire munitions factory. Names, reading from left to right:
front row, Councillor Harry Rhodes, Councillor John Lund, Councillor HP Wood,
Councillor El lsles, deputy chairman of the fire
brigade committee, Councillor William Wade, chairman, Mr Joseph Farndale, chief
constable, Councillor Thomas Taylor, Councillor Walter Bateson, Councillor Haulstead. 2nd row, Fireman Metcalf, Chief Officer James
Scott, Fireman Thorpe, Ex Councillor JW Swithenbank, Fireman Blakey, Councillor
T Blyth, Alderman A Pickles, Councillor E Siddle, Mr Unsworth, Mr. A Fattorini
and at the end Superintendent Forbes. Back row, Fireman Hall, Quigley,
Flaxington, Robinson, Crighton, Masshender, Cousins,
Mosby, Toothill, Horn, Place, Bartle, Farrar (Bradford Weekly Telegraph,
13 July 1917).
A memorial service for the Fallen was held in July 1917. The Leeds
Mercury, 16 July 1917: BRADFORD’S FALLEN. IMPRESSIVE MEMORIAL SERVICE
AT PARISH CHURCH. The Lord Mayor of Bradford, Alderman Abraham Peel, and many
prominent citizens attended the parish church yesterday afternoon on the
occasion of a memorial service for all who had fallen in the war, and particularly
those from the city of Bradford. An imposing procession was formed at the
town hall and it included a considerable number of officers and men from the
local volunteer battalions, the National Motor Volunteers, and the Legion of
Frontiersmen. The Chief Constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, marshalled the
proceeding which was led by mounted police. The police band and the city
volunteers also were in attendance. The vicar, in the course of an eloquent
dress, said: “There is a hush over the city life today, politics are dead,
businesses forgotten, and other things that divide us are laid aside. As one
great family we come to the ancient House of Prayer to mourn and to sympathise.”
The Bradford
Weekly Telegraph, 2 November 1917: The Lord Mayor had several
engagements for the present week. Tonight he will preside at the second annual
smoking concert of the special constables of Bradford, at which medals will be
presented to the successful competitors by the Chief Constable (Mr Joseph
Farndale).
1918
The Leeds
Mercury, 30 January 1918: BRADFORD’S LOSS. ELOQUENT TRIBUTES TO THE
LATE LORD MAYOR. The people of Bradford are keenly affected by the death of
their Lord Mayor, Captain John Bland, and expressions of deep sympathy with
the relatives are to be heard on every hand.... the Stipendiary Magistrate, Mr
Beaumont Morice, referred to the courageous manner in which the lord mayor had
undertaken his duties and to the noble manner in which he had been assisted by
the lady mayoress, Miss Purcell. Mr A G MacGuinnes on
behalf of the bar, and the chief constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, associated
themselves with the foregoing remarks...
The Yorkshire
Post, 11 March 1918: THE ACHIEVEMENT OF BRADFORD. FIVE CRUISERS
INSTEAD OF TWO. Bradford’s task was to raise two cruisers on the value of
£800,000, and the city which justly pride itself in its patriotic response to
national funds, subscribed the money for five, the grand total of investments
for the week amounting to £2,010, 000. The total on Saturday was £509, 087....
The Lord Mayor announced the achievement from a temporary platform at the tower
entrance of the exchange. Accompanying him were... Mr Joseph Farndale...
The King and Queen visited
the Saltaire Mills in May 1918. The Shipley Times and Express, 31 May 1918:
KING AND QUEEN AT SHIPLEY. OVER HALF AN HOUR AT SALTAIRE MILLS.
INTRODUCTION AT THE MIDLAND STATION.
By coincidence the Royal Party were at the Sir Titus Salt Bart
& Sons, spinners and manufacturers at the Saltaire
Village between 3.05 and 3.40pm where James Farndale (FAR00555), a distant relative, was
the drawing foreman.
The visit on Wednesday afternoon to Shipley of the King and
Queen was an occasion of spontaneous public demonstration such as is
inspired among their people everywhere by their Majesties, even when the visit,
as was the case on Wednesday, was often informal character. But war
conditions gave to the meeting a realism in which the Throne is seemed
to be much more than a symbol, and it was in the minds of many people that
the quest was all the more interesting because it was unofficial. There was
more scope than usual for the personal element, and the sentiment which the
visit aroused was naturally strengthened by the object of their Majesties’
visit, for their three days tour of the West Riding of Yorkshire -
beginning at Bradford on Wednesday morning and terminating to date today at
Leeds, was really an inspection of representative textile factories that are
engaged on work of national importance. Consequently, local interest could
not have been a greater stimulus, and, so far as circumstances permitted the
residents expressed their appreciation of the royal favour that was conferred
on them. They crowded the places of interests, displayed a large quantity of
decorations in street, shop and residence considering there was no organisation
behind this sort of compliment to their Majesties; and in in a variety of other
ways they indicated the warmth and sincerity of their welcome. It was the
first time for the visit of a King and Queen and the inspection of Saltaire mills was also high testimony to the industrial
importance of the town and to the eminence of the enterprising spinning and
manufacturing Firm, Sir Titus Salt, Bart and sons and co limited.
Shipley's association with Royalty began in 1882 when the late
King Edward V11 and Queen Alexandra stayed two nights at Milner field, where, at the Prince as the Prince and Princess of Wales, they
came for the opening of the Bradford Technical College. Coming to Saltaire Station by train, they were received by the
representatives of the town in the grounds of the Saltaire
Congregational Church, a roadway having been cut through the railway
embankment. Next morning they drove from Milner field through Saltaire and Shipley, being received by the representatives
of Bradford at the boundary of Frizinghall. Among the
decorations was an imitation gothic arch at the Frizinghall
entrance to Lister park, and the present permanent arch was afterwards erected
as a memorial of the visit. In May 1887, Royalty was again at Milner Field,
Princess Beatrice being the visitor. She had come to open the Saltaire Jubilee Exhibition. The late Mr Titus Salt and Mrs
Salt were on both occasions resident at Milner Field. On September 27th 1916
her Imperial Highness the Grand Duchess George of Russia came to Saltaire from Harrogate, accompanied by her two daughters,
the Princess Nina and Zenia, to open a patriotic bizarre.
Time and place.
It was a busy day for their Majesties on Wednesday, when they kept
the following timetable.
9:52 AM. Arrived in Bradford, Midland Railway Station. Received by
the Lord Mayor, Mr H Tetley, the Town Clerk, Mr F Stevens, the Chief Constable,
Mr Farndale.
9:57 AM. Arrived at town hall, received by the Lord Mayor and the
lady mayoress.
10:30 AM. leave the town hall....
… 3:05 PM. Arrived at Sir Titus Salt, Bart, and sons and Co
limited, Saltaire, spinners and manufacturers.
Received by Sir James Hill, Bart, MP.
3:40 PM. Left Sir Titus salt, Bart, sons and Co limited...
Arrival at Shipley.
When their Majesties reached Shipley the streets were gay with flags
and bunting, some were connected with decorations, the sun was at full power,
and thousands of people from far and near were sightseeing, in a word, it was
Kings weather for a King's visit, and the summer scene with an arch of blue sky
overhead was perfect.
The appointed route to Saltaire was
lined with spectators, thousands turning out to see their Majesties. But
traffic was well controlled by the police and special constables in charge of
Inspector Folks. Just outside the mills the Bradford City volunteer band took
up a position, and during the interval the crowds waited for the role visitors,
played up to date collections of music. The mills were not running during the
afternoon, all the hands having been given half holiday, excepting those required
in the department's through which their Majesties were to pass....
The Leeds
Mercury, 31 July 1918: A CHIEF CONSTABLE’S SALARY. There was a
protracted discussion at a meeting of the Bradford City council yesterday
afternoon with regard to the proposal of the War
Wages Committee to make an allowance of 20% of his salary to
chief constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, in consideration of the fact that he was
at present entitled to retire on a pension of £666, it being understood that he
would continue in office for the period of the war at least. Mr C A Glide
moved, as an amendment, that this allowance be not made, on the ground that the
remuneration of £1,000 a year now paid was satisfactory in the circumstances.
The amendment was defeated by 31 votes to 15, and the proposal of the committee
to pay the extra 20% allowance was carried.
1919
The Yorkshire
Evening Post, 9 June 1919: THE LATE ALDERMAN PEEL OF BRADFORD.
Sympathetic references to the death of Alderman Abraham Peel were made at the
Bradford City court today. The deputy mayor, Mr W Barber, said Alderman Peel
was one of nature's gentlemen. Success had never spoiled him. As Lord Mayor
of the city during 1916 to 1917, one of the most critical periods of the war,
he performed functions appertaining to the office to the satisfaction of all.
His many friends had sustained a sad loss by his death. The Chief Constable, Mr
Joseph Farndale, said Alderman Peel rather fought shy of the court because
he had no wish to meet out punishment to his fellow men. He constantly
endeavoured to put the wrongdoer on the right path...
By 1919, Joseph Farndale was acting in a licensing and censorship
capacity in respect of the new cinemas.
The Kinematograph Weekly, 3 July 1919: It
was stated at the annual licensing sessions held on June 25 that there were 40
places licenced under the Kinematograph Act 1909,
a decrease of one. Of these, 26 held annual licences and 11 dramatic licences.
The chief constable, J Farndale, said that the conduct of all these places had
been good.
The Yorkshire
Evening Post, 21 November 1919: BRADFORD
MANUFACTURER’S ALLEGED THEFTS. A question of a bank's money. At Bradford today,
*, 39, manufacturer, 9 Bolingbroke Street, was further remanded on the
following charges: (1) purloining a quantity of worsted and cotton yarn, (2)
stealing a quantity of Worcester and cotton yarn, total value £42, the property
of Messrs Guevara Limited, between August 26 1918 and January 9/19/19. When the
accused was before the court last Saturday, it was stated by the Chief
Constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, that the total value of the property alleged to
have been stolen ran into four figures....
1920
Joseph Farndale was made an OBE in 1920.
The Leeds
Mercury, 31 March 1920: Mr. J Farndale, Bradford chief constable, OBE
(Sachs).
The Leeds
Mercury, 5 April 1920: The Chief Constable of Bradford (Mr Joseph
Farndale) has been notified that an award of war service medals has been
made to nearly 100 Bradford special constables who serve in the police
force served in the police force during the war.
There was concern in 1920 about factory morals. The Huddersfield
Daily Examiner, 15 March 1921: FACTORY MORALS. The Chief Constable of
Bradford, Mr. J Farndale, speaking in that city yesterday, said there was
too much looseness permitted amongst the opposite sex in factories. There
was undo familiarity between boys and girls, he declared. It grew until they
came to manhood and womanhood, then disaster followed. Responsible persons
in factories should check that freedom of speech between young people.
It was unfortunate that those who employed them did not give greater attention
to that phase of city life.
1921
The 1921 Census for Bradford listed Joseph
Farndale, 57 years old, married, born Wakefield, Police Chief Constable,
Bradford, appointed by the Bradford Watch Committee; Emma Farndale, 58 years
old, also born in Wakefield; Eveline Farndale, single, 26 years old, at home,
born Halifax; and Emma Elsie Gladys Farndale, single, 28 years old, single,
born Halifax, at home.
The Leeds
Mercury, 13 April 1921: Leeds Investiture. Mr Joseph Farndale, Chief
Constable of Bradford, who received the OBE yesterday.
The Yorkshire
Post, 15 September 1921: The Lord Mayor and Sir William Wade
responded to “Prosperity to the city of Bradford” (proposed by Mr H Hibbert),
and Mr Farndale, chief constable, said he was glad to say that in Bradford the
authorities had had no trouble with the cinema trade. He had left the
standard of pictures to the exhibitors, and both he and the licencing committee
were more than satisfied. (Applause).
The Kinematograph
Weekly, 22 September 1921: Joseph Farndale (Chief Constable of
Bradford) said that although it might not be known generally, it was a fact
that there had never been a picture turned down by the Bradford authorities.
That was due to the standard set by men like Henry Hibbert and Sydney Carter,
who were pioneers in Bradford and in the country. The police were not out to
worry the industry. They were only concerned in the welfare of the people,
especially the young. The charge of showing things not good for young people could
not be levelled against the picture houses of Bradford. As a censor of
pictures, said the chief constable, his trouble was the standard and
thereafter, to be quite honest, he had left the standard to the Trade
and with that standard in Bradford the authorities were quite satisfied....
1922
The police were concerned
about a growing trend to make fancy dress costumes from cotton wool in 1922.
The Hull Daily Mail, 19 January 1922: COTTON
WOOL DRESSES NOT ALLOWED. Emphasis was laid at the Bradford Licencing Court on
Wednesday up on the dangers of wearing fancy dresses made of cotton wool at
dances. An application was made by a local football club for a dancing
licencing connection with a fancy dress bull to be given shortly at St Chads
schools, Bradford. The chief constable, Mr. J Farndale, told the applicant that
a licence could only be granted if an undertaking were given that no cotton
wool, or other inflammable material, would be used on any of the fancy dresses.
Mr Farndale reminded the Court that on New Year Eve, a young Bradford girl
was burnt to death owing to her costume, which was made almost entirely of
cotton wool, catching fire. The applicant promised that no such
materials would be allowed, and the licence was granted.
The Yorkshire
Evening Post, 6 February 1922: In consideration of his continuing to
serve, it is recommended that the salary of the Bradford chief constable,
Mr. J Farndale, be augmented by an allowance at the rate of 12 ½ percent, amounting to £156 5s.
The Leeds
Mercury, 10 July 1922: A number of police races were also included in
a lengthy programme. The Mile Relay West Riding championships was won easily by
Bradford City police; PC Joy, Bradford, won the Mile West Riding Championship
walk in 8 minutes. 1-5 seconds; a … prizes to the value of £200 were
distributed by Mrs J Farndale, wife of the chief constable.
An early drunk driving offence:
The Scotsman,
30 October 1922: FATAL MOTOR ACCIDENT. SEQUEL IN BRADFORD COURT.
*, aged 47, a textile finisher, carrying
on business at Wind Hill, and residing at Bingley, both near Bradford, was
remanded on Saturday at Bradford on a charge of being drunk in charge for
motor vehicle, when an accident occurred in which two men were injured, in
the early hours of Friday morning, and one of them died on Saturday morning.
Chief constable Farndale, stating the circumstances, said that early on Friday
morning two taxi drivers, William George Gledhill of Tudor Street, Bradford,
and George Margerson, of Intake Road, Bradford, were fixing spare wheels to a
motor car in Manningham Lane. Their lights were burning, and they were under a
lighted street lamp. The prisoner approached in another car at a rapid rate,
and did not stop, although warned by an onlooker. He ran into the stationary
motor car, and Gledhill sustained a fracture of the skull and Margerson had a
broken leg. Both were taken to the Infirmary, and Gledhill died on
Saturday. Mr Farndale said that * did not stop after the accident, although
summoned to do so by a policeman. He nearly charged into his officer. Later
other police officers called on him to stop, but he did not do so. A sixth
policemen, however, boarded the footboard, half a mile away, and caused the
prisoner to stop. He found him to be drunk. * was remanded being allowed
bail himself at £1000 and two securities of £500 each.
The Leeds
Mercury, 30 October 1922: SENSATION AT BRADFORD. MANSLAUGHTER CHARGE
AGAINST MOTORIUST. BINGLEY MAN. There were sensational developments at Bradford
on Saturday following the terrible motor smash which, as previously
reported in the late Mercury, occurred in the city late on Thursday night.
George William Gledhill, taxi cab driver, of Tudor Street, succumbed to the
injuries which he sustained in the affair; and *, 47, textile finisher of North
Terrace, Bingley, carrying on business at Wind Hill, who is alleged to have
caused the accident, was charged with manslaughter. He was remanded
until Friday, £2,000 bail being allowed, to sureties of £500 and his own
recognisance of £1,000. The circumstances of the tragedy were related to the
Bradford bench by the chief constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, who stated that
about midnight on Thursday, *, accompanied by another motor driver, was engaged
in fixing a wheel in a car to a car, standing in Manningham Lane. The vehicle
was on the hear side of the road with the red rear light in proper order, and
within range of a streetlight. While they were thus engaged, the prisoner
approached the spot in an open car, and when 30 yards away was called upon
to stop by a civilian. *, however, was stated to have taken no heed the
warning, and immediately afterwards the crash occurred, both men being
injured. The accused, proceeded Mr farndale, did not pull up after the
accident and ignored several other police signals. Three constables, a Chief
Inspector, and a Sergeant all stood in the middle of the road at various points
and vainly attempted to stop the car. One of the officers, indeed, would
himself have been a victim had it not been for his agility. A quarter of a mile
from the scene of the mishap however a fourth constable managed to jump on the
footboard of the car and detained the man, *, it was alleged, was found
drunk. Representing the prisoner Mr E Cawthorn stated that though on bail *
immediately went to the town hall and surrendered to the charge of
manslaughter, which he anticipated on hearing of Gledhill's death. He was quite
prepared to meet their charge and pleaded ‘not guilty’. He had driven a motor
car for many years without any offence. It is learnt that George Margerson,
Hillside Road, Bradford, who was also involved with * in the collision, is
progressing favourably.
1923
The Leeds
Mercury, 15 March 1923: THE ‘LISTEN INN’. ALCOHOL AERIALS OPPOPSED.
VARIOUS VIEWS. Our announcement yesterday that a Leeds publican had applied for
permission to install a wireless set in his public house has aroused
considerable opposition, and attracted some support. It is evident that if a
large number of people have their way the “listen in” will not be a sign which
will be very prominent in Leeds just yet. Amongst those who oppose the idea is
the Reverend WJ Tunbridge, of the Oxford place Wesleyan Chapel, who states that
he objects chiefly because he thinks it will make a special appeal to the
young people. Several other people engaged in work of a religious or
temperance nature oppose the suggestion on the ground that it will encourage
drinking. As against that, a Leeds publican in a large way of business, roundly
condemns such opposition. He stated that the innovation would not make for
more drinking, and suggested that it would be as well if those who are opposed
to such installations in public houses would consider the introduction of sets
into the Sunday schools and churches. He imagined it might increase their
popularity. In other towns the matter is being warmly discussed... Chief
constable's view. The chief constable of Bradford, Mr Joseph Farndale said
that looking on the question on broad lines he did not see how the justices
could refuse licences for the installation of the listening-in sets
provided that the licence holder installed the apparatus in a room in his house
which was licenced for music. He expressed the opinion that there was no
necessity in such a case for him to get another music licence for a wireless
installation....
The Nottingham
Evening Post, 15 March 1923. RADIO HURDY GURDY. LATEST INNOVATION FOR
STREET MUSICIANS. POLICE VIEWS ON PUBLIC HOUSE INSTALLATIONS. …
The Leeds
Mercury, 23 April 1923: POLICE RUSE THAT FAILED. BRADFORD DETECTIVES’
PLAN. DUMMY NOTES. That the Bradford bullion box thieves did not get
away with even a ten shilling note of their £17,500 haul is placed beyond
doubt in consequence of counting operations which took place in the Bradford
chief constable’s office on Saturday. The 20,000 currency notes recovered from
the vacant brewery, where they had been hidden by thieves, were sorted and
checked by a staff of bank clerks, all of whom had a number of red taped
bundles before them, each containing £500. Some of these appeared to have been
tampered with, but it was found that in every case the contents were intact.
The wealth was formally handed over by the chairman of the Watch Committee, Mr
H A H Roads, and the chief constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, to representatives of
the National Union and Provincial Nank, and immediately afterwards the money
was transferred to the strong rooms of the Market Street branch, to which the bul;lion box was originally consigned. The police have not
yet laid their hands upon either the culprits or the box itself, but careful
inquiries have at length yielded trace of the latter.
The visit by the Prince of Wales in May 1923.
The Yorkshire
Post, 1 May 1923: PRINCE OF WALES VISIT TO BRADFORD. OFFICIAL
PROGRAMME. The official programme for the visit of the Prince of Wales to
Bradford on Wednesday, May 30, was issued last night as follows: 9:45 AA: His
Royal Highness the Prince of Wales KG and party, accompanied by the Earl and
Countess of Harewood, will leave Harewood house by motor car for Bradford.
10:30 AM. Arrival of the Prince at the new workshops of the Royal Institution
for the Blind at Frizinghall, where the Lord Mayor
and Lady Mayoress, Alderman Thomas Sowden JP and Mrs Sowden, accompanied by the
town clerk, Mr N L Fleming, and the Chief Constable, Mr Joseph Farndale OBE,
will await him. The Prince will then inspect the interior of the new workshops
and will see the blind inmates at work....
Bradford Ladies to be presented to the
Prince of Wales today.
The Leeds
Mercury, 30 May 1923: Mrs J Farndale, wife of the chief constable of
Bradford.
The Yorkshire
Post, 31 May 1923: LUNCHEON AND PRESENTATIONS. Subsequently, in the
Chief Magistrate 's room, a number of prominent ladies and gentlemen were
presented to His Royal Highness as follows: Lady Barnby, Sir Francis and
Lady Watson... Mrs Farndale...
The Evening
Dispatch, 31 May 1923: LUNCHEON SPEECHES. LORD MAYOR’S TRIBUTE TO
POLICE CHIEF. The visiting chief constables were entertained to luncheon at the
Queen’s Hotel at midday by the Lord Mayor Alderman David Davis. Submitting the
toast of ‘the Association’, the Lord Mayor referred to the honour bestowed
upon Birmingham by the Association, choosing the city's chief constable as
president. “Our chief constable,” he added “has been known to us for many
years, and I venture to think he is one of the keenest administrators of the
police force, who has always given satisfactory satisfaction to us.” … The
toast of “the Lord Mayor” was submitted by Mr. J Farndale, Bradford, who was
the nephew of the late chief constable at of Birmingham....
The Daily
News (London), 27 August 1923: SWEEPSTAKES SCARE. POLICE WARNING
MAKES PROMOTORS UNHAPPY. Bradford is in the grip of a sweepstakes fever.
The committee of one Liberal Club is promoting one on the St. Leger, the
tickets being five shillings a piece.
The prizes are expected to amount to many thousands of pounds. Thousands
of tickets have already been sold. Many other organisations are promoting
sweeps in the city, and a warning given by a highly placed police official
at Leeds, namely, “that all sweepstakes are illegal and the
promoters are liable to prosecution,” has caused a scare among the
promoters in Bradford. The Chief Constable Bradford, Mr Joseph Farndale, asked to
make a statement on the subject, replied: “The law is there, and it is our duty
to prosecute if the law is broken”. This may be taken to mean that if the clubs
promoting sweets sweepstakes sell only to their own and affiliated members,
they need not fear being troubled by the police.
The Leeds
Mercury, 15 October 1923: Mr
Joseph Farndale, chief constable Bradford, on Saturday completed 40 years service with the police force, and 23 years in his
present position. Mr Farndale, formerly Chief Constable Margate and
later at York, came to Bradford in 1900. In that year 747 indictable offences
were dealt with in Bradford, as against 1,340 last year.
1924
January 1924 saw a terrible mill collapse in Bradford. The Dundee
Evening Telegraph, 10 January 1924: TERRIBLE SPINNING MILL DISASTER.
TOP FLOOR COLLAPSES; FALLS THROUGH BIUILDING. ,ANY KILLED AND INJURED: WORKERS
IMPRISONED IN DEBRIS.
The Bradford
Daily Telegraph, 10 January 1924: MILL COLLAPSES. TERRIBLE DISASTER
REPORTED AT BNRADFORD. KILLED, INJURED AND MISSING. A mill is reported to
have collapsed at Bradford, Yorkshire, today, resulting in loss of life
and injuries to many work people. One of the first messages states that one
person is dead, that seventeen people have been taken from the wreckage more or
less seriously injured, and that 30 or 40 people were buried. A later telegram
says: the upper floor of a spinning wheel in Wharfe Street, Bradford, occupied
by Messrs G H Leather Limited, spinners, collapsed. Heavy masses of
machinery crashed through the doors beneath and a large number of work
people were buried in the debris. Large numbers of police and firemen under
Chief Constable Farndale and chief officer Scott are working feverishly to
render aid to the work people still imprisoned in the ruins. Masses of
heavy spinning machinery are being dragged up from the basement by ropes. 30 to
40 men were pulling on the ropes at one period. The police, fearing another
fall, cleared all the helpers out of the building. One helper was almost
hysterical because just before the order was given he had found a woman pinned
beneath the massive timber. The scenes in the facility of the mill were tragic
in the extreme. Groans could be heard coming from the pile of debris. The
disaster was reminiscent of the Newlands Mill disaster at Bradford in 1882,
when 54 lives were lost. The Reverend W E Cunliffe, vicar of the parish in
which the mill stands, was quickly on the scene and offered a prayer in the
building as the rescue work preceded. Elizabeth Dawson, of Ripon Street, who
has been employed in the mill for two years, was the nearest worker to escape
injury. She states that a girl beside her went through the floor. There was
no warning she told the police a press representative. “The first thing I
heard was a great noise. For an instant I thought it was the machinery running
away commerce it sometimes does, but I soon realised something awful had happened.
The frame next to mine and the girl working it went down, and so did others. I
was paralysed with terror and rooted to the spot as my mates vanished. I saw
that the control of the floor had gone, but the girl at each seemed to be
safe.” …
The Hull Daily
Mail, 11 January 1924: HEROIC RESCUE WORK. Immediately after the
catastrophe, the police, fire brigade, ambulances, doctors cover nurses and
others likely to be of assistance were summoned. Soon the mill yard was full of
ambulances and motor cars cover and doctors and nurses were continually
arriving. Chief officer Scott took command of the rescue operations and he was
later that later assisted by chief constable the chief constable, Mr Joseph
farndale, and Superintendent Turner. It was soon apparent that the task of
removing the wreckage would be one of extreme difficulty and delicacy, because
most of the imprisoned men and women were in the centre of the debris, and the
slightest slip by the rescuers or the unfortunate displacement of a single
piece of wood might have led to an increase of the death roll.
There was another gruesome murder case in Bradford in February 1924. The Daily
Evening Telegraph, 28 February 1924: ACCUSED MAN ASKS FOR BAIL.
HAIRDRESSER’S JOKE LEADS TO ARREST. The man seized by Bradford police late last
night in connection with the murder of Mrs Reaney was formally charged
at 5:45 this morning with the murder. Later he was taken to the magistrates and
remanded. His name was given as *, 47, of Howard Street, Little Horton Lane,
Bradford, and he described himself as an engineer. From about midnight until
4:30 this morning the police were engaged in searching the house of the accused
man and they returned to the town hall taking with them a quantity of goods of
which they had taken possession. * is a man of pale complexion, with the hair
going a little grey. The charge against him was that he did feloniously,
wilfully, and with malice aforethought, kill and murder one Elizabeth Reaney,
between 9pm on February 22 at 8:30pm on February 23. The charge sheet recorded
the fact that the sum of £16 was found in the prisoner's possession. Inspector
Wardell appeared in the dock and the chief constable Mr Joseph Farndale said
that in view of the charge proffered against the prisoner he had had to ask for
a remand in custody for eight days. The prisoner: “Can I have bail sir?”.
The stipendiary magistrate “no”. A remand and was granted. Information
which led to *’s arrest was given by a hairdresser named *, who, in the course
of an interview today, said that * called it his shop on Tuesday morning for a
shave. He had a heavy growth of beard, and one eye was badly discoloured. *
asked jokingly whether his wife had hit him with a flat iron, and he replied
that he had fallen from a tram car. * thought nothing more of the incident
until he saw the police description, and then he gave the information to the
police. The prisoner is a married man, but has been living apart from his wife
during the past two years. He resided for eight years in the home in which he
was arrested.
The Gloucester
Citizen, 28 February 1924: THE BRADFORD MYSTERY. MAN DETAINED ON
SUSPICION. …
The Derby
Daily Telegraph, 28 February 1924: BRADFORD MURDER. SUSPECT BROUGHT
BEFORE THE MAGISTRATES. REMANDED IN CUSTODY. …
The Leeds
Mercury, 11 April 1924: Chief Constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, has
received a letter from a Bradfordian in America
expressing appreciation of the assistance given him by the press in tracing his
brothers and sisters who reside in the city. The writer was Mr EI Lloyd, of
Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Joseph Farndale was made a Commander of the Order of the British
Empire (Civil Division) (“CBE”) in the King’s Birthday Honours List in June
1924.
The Halifax
Evening Courier, 3 June 1924: HONOUR FOR CHIEF CONSTABLE. Included in
the Kings’ honours list today is an award to Mr Joseph Farndale, OBE, Chief
Constable of Bradford. He is being made a Companion of the Order of the
British Empire (civil division). Mr Farndale was formerly a Halifax
policeman and native of Wakefield, he joined the Halifax force on attaining his
majority, about 1883, gained rapid promotion and rose to Inspector. In June
1893 he was appointed Chief Constable Margate, and after a stay of three years
became Chief Constable of York. In June 1900 he secured his present position,
and in April 1921 was decorated with the Order of the British Empire.
The Sheffield
Daily Telegraph, 3 June 1924: TWO BARONETCIES AND NUMEROUS NEW
KNIGHTS. NO PEERAGES. Public and police service recognised … CBE … Mr Joseph
Farndale, chief constable Bradford. …
The Yorkshire
Post, 3 June 1924: Several north country police officials appear in
the order of the British Empire lists, including … Mr. J Farndale, chief
constable Bradford …
The Sheffield
Daily Telegraph, 3 June 1924 – CBE - ... Joseph Farndale, chief
constable, Bradford …
The Edinburgh
Gazette, 6 June, 1924: 3rd June 1924. The King has been graciously
pleased, on the occasion of his Majesty's birthday, to give orders for the following
promotions in, and appointments to, the Most Excellent Order of the British
Empire: to be commanders of the civil division of the said Most Excellent
Order: … Joseph Farndale, Esquire, OBE, chief constable Bradford.
By 1924, Bradford was having to deal with significant traffic
problems. The Leeds Mercury, 2 September 1924: TRAFFIC PROBLEMS IN BRADFORD STREETS TOO NARROW FOR
PRESENT CONDITIONS. NEEDS OUTGROWN. Some
notable indications of the growth of Bradford’s traffic problems are
given in a report on the subject by chief constable, Mr Joseph Farndale. A
special committee of the watch committee is considering means of dealing with
the problem. Since 1924 the number of persons killed or injured by
motor vehicles in Bradford has increased by 173% and in the same period the
number of motor vehicles registered or licenced have increased by 1,225%...
The Evening Courier, 2
September 1924:
STREET CONGESTION. The Chief Constable of Bradford has issued a
voluminous report on street congestion and the possible ways in
which it may be alleviated. His strong point is that “The streets are not
of sufficient width to meet the present traffic requirements, unless some
restrictions are imposed by legislation upon the user of defined streets.”
Bradford was constructed when traffic requirements were comparatively small and
many of its streets were inadequate for the present and rapidly increasing
pressure of motor traction, but it may be remarked incidentally, Halifax is
much older town and, owing to its narrow streets, it awkward corners and its
stiff gradients, its plight is far worse than that of its neighbour. Hence
the importance of Mr Farndale’s suggestions, for we shall have to face the
problem boldly one of these days. Mr Farndale emphasises the difficulties
created by the trams upon fixed tracks, a point of which we have often
referred. He regards this as a serious obstruction to free movement, for it
frequently holds up progress or drives parking vehicles onto the off side of
the road and creates congestion. The loading of heavy vehicles at
warehouses is another frequent cause of delay and this can only be obviated
by structural alterations, not always possible, which would permit of such work
being done in quieter byways. Mr Farndale makes a number of suggestions. The
first essential is that slow moving traffic should be kept to the left or
near side of the road, but there are few streets that will accommodate
three parallel lines of traffic and that means the constant holding up of
speedier vehicles by the slow traffic. Hence the idea of prescribed streets
for classified through and local traffic. The essential heavy and slow
vehicles should be kept clear of the centre of town with prescribed routes for
their journeys. It is also suggested that certain streets might be scheduled as
“one way” streets during certain hours, the practical difficulty here is that
parallel streets within reasonable distance of each other should be available.
Mr Farndale also points out that excellent service in the cause of safety could
be given by the in inclination of “safety first” methods in school teaching.
And he touches on the speed limit idea, which is being mooted for
Halifax through a special resolution at tomorrow night's council meeting. He
quotes the
Departmental Committee on the Taxation and Regulation of Road Vehicles as saying that the
imposition of a fixed speed limit is not the most effective method of ensuring
the safety of the public, suggesting in populous areas and dangerous places
the institution of a standard form of cautionary sign.
The Leeds Mercury, 27 September 1924: Major
General Atchorley inspected 320 officers and men of the Bradford police yesterday
at the Bellevue barracks. He is seen, in bowler hat, with Mr Joseph Farndale,
the chief constable of Bradford, and officers of the force. Joseph Farndale
is third from left behind Major General Atchorley in the bowler hat.
1925
There was opposition to the payment of an
additional allowance to Joseph Farndale by 1925. The Halifax
Evening Courier, 14 January 1925: BRADFORD TRAM PASSES TO CEASE AT THE END OF
THE MONTH. Bradford tramways committee has got its way at last on the question
of the issue of tram passes … . A protracted discussion took place on the
recommendation of the Watch Committee to grant a non pensionable allowance of
£150 per annum to Chief Constable Farndale, formerly an inspector of Halifax,
for long service, but it met the same fate as it had done previously. The
socialists were up in arms against the grant, and despite the support of the
Liberal Chairman of the Watch Committee, of the Conservative chairman of the
Estimate Subcommittee, and another Liberal, the proposal was defeated by 33
votes to 21.
Joseph Farndale was unwell in 1925 and had to have
an operation.
The Yorkshire
Post, 2 May 1925: NEWS OF THE NORTH. CHIEF CONSTABLE OF BRADFORD INDISPOSED.
The Chief Constable of Bradford, Mr Joseph Farndale CBE, through
indisposition missed a meeting of the watch committee yesterday, for the first
time since his appointment nearly 25 years ago. Mr Farndale completes a
quarter of a century service with the Bradford police force next month.
The Halifax
Evening Courier, 21 May 1925: The Chief Constable of Bradford (Mr Joseph
Farndale) is making satisfactory progress after his recent operation.
By 1925, Joseph was becoming veruy interested in
traffic control as the roads faced increasing problems of congestion. Joseph was instrumental in the recognition of a
need for national rarther than local traffic rules. The
Citizen, 29 June 1925: TRAFFIC CONTROL. REPORT BY POLICE AND ROAD
USERS. UNIFORM LAW SUGGESTED. Recommendations of considerable importance for
dealing with the traffic problem are contained in the report of the
committee of representatives of the police forces in Great Britain and of road
users, which was issued on Saturday by the stationary office. The committee,
which conducted an exhaustive inquiry into “present day traffic problems from
the police and road users point of view,” was presided over by Mr J
Farndale, Chief Constable of Bradford. In summarising their conclusions,
the committee states that the development of the use of mechanically
propelled vehicles have become more and more a matter of national rather than
local concern, which makes it desirable that there should be more
uniformity in the law relating to the regulation and control of traffic.
Traffic being no longer local in character, it is well nigh impossible for
drivers and others who use the highway to recognise boundaries and become
informed of the several local requirements when boundaries are reached. Regulations
for the control of traffic should be consolidated, amended, and brought up to
date, and made uniform throughout the country. Any powers dealing with
the regulation and control of all classes of traffic should be of general
application by an Act of Parliament, and not under local acts or by laws. On
the question of the mechanical transport generally, the committee refer to
pillion riding on motorcycles, and stated: “we have considered this subject,
but are of the opinion that it should not be further proceeded with, and make
no recommendation here on.” The general opinion is also expressed that no motor
coach or large omnibus with more than 14 seats should be permitted to be driven
on unsuitable by-roads. The committee also considered the obstruction and delay
caused by heavy motor cars caused owing to the ability of drivers of certain heavy
motor cars to hear or see the signal given by drivers desiring to overtake them,
and recommend that the ministry of transport should promote legislation on the
matter as early as possible. Attention is also called to the necessity of an efficient
brake on every pedal cycle. The committee strongly urged that all points
where traffic constables are stationed should be well illuminated. They suggest
the wearing of white gloves by all traffic duty constables, but do not
consider that the wearing of white mackintoshes would be of any material
advantage. Being of opinion that cab stands in busy streets take up road space,
and crawling cabs are a great nuisance, they recommend: (a) that a greater
number of cab stands be provided, where it can be done without causing
obstruction; (b) that the number of cabs on anyone stand be limited; and (c)
that more cab stands should be linked up with the telephone system....
The Leeds Mercury, 10 December 1925: BRADFORD LOSE TRADE TO LEEDS. PEOPLE CANNOT SHOP WHERE
THEY LIKE. STATEMENTS AT ‘BUS BATTLE INQUIRY’. From our own correspondent,
Bradford, Wednesday. The statements that Bradford shopkeepers are losing trade
to Leeds because of the lack of travelling facilities into the city, was
made here today, when an Inspector of the Ministry of Transport, Mr R H
Tollerton, conducted an inquiry into another appeal by the West Riding
Automobile Company against the decision of the Bradford Corporation not to
allow them to run motorbuses from Wakefield, past the city boundary at
Drighlington, into the centre of Bradford. The opening of the inquiry marked the
renewal of the “battle of the buses”. Bradford and West Riding bus
companies regard the appeal as a “test case” on the results of which hangs the
fate of their own applications. A year ago the ministry upheld an appeal by the
West Riding Automobile Company, and stated its intention of issuing an order
compelling the corporation to go up licences, but did not do so comment the
licencing year having expired meantime.... the Chief Constable, Mr Joseph
Farndale, asked by Mr Beaumont if he approved of the running of omnibuses by
the Corporation, said he certainly did not. “I don't approve of the trams
running in the centre of the city,” he said. “if I had my way, I would take
them out of the streets altogether.” The ministry's decision will be known in
due course.
1926
A new ‘Safety First’ initiative began in 1926,
which Joseph later bnecame very involved with. The Yorkshire
Post and Leeds Intelligencer 17 December 1926: LORD MAYOR ON STREET PERILS. Some interesting
figures and comments on the recent startling increases in street accidents
were given at a meeting of representatives of all sections of the community
held at the Bradford Town Hall yesterday, at which it was decided to
inaugurate a local “safety first” council, to be affiliated to the national
“safety first” association.... the Chief Constable of Bradford, Mr Joseph
Farndale, said he despaired of educating the present generation. Pedestrians
would wander about the roads like the domestic fowl, though even that bird was
now better educated and at least got out of the way. It was a remarkable
thing that accidents were the fewest during the “peak times” of traffic....
The Leeds
Mercury 17 December 1926: The Chief Constable (Mr Joseph Farndale)
said the domsetic fowl was more educated in the rules of “safety first” than
the pedestrian , for, at any rate, it did clear out of the way. It was a
remarkable thing that accidents were infinitesimal when the heaviest traffic
was on the road, as compared with the other parts of the day.
1927
Joseph Farndale was a supporter of self regulation
in cinemas, though still had quite conservative views about what they should be
showing. The Nottingham Journal, 28 March 1927: A
Chief Constable’s View. The chief constable of Bradford, Mr Joseph Farndale,
interviewed on the subject, a day or two ago, said that he had been in
favour of cinema performances for years. “It would be better for the morals
of the young people,” he said, “to keep them off the streets. It would be for
their general well being.” The Chief Constable went on to remark that he would
like to have cinemas open generally, not isolated picture houses here and
there, although he would restrict restrict the entertainment to the exhibition
of suitable films. “Naturally,” he added, “comedy would be barred; The films
would be of an elevating type.”
The Newcastle
Daily Chronicle, 5 September 1927: NEW PRISON METHODS. GOVERNOR’S WAY TO HELP
WRONGDOERS TO DO RIGHT. “We are the catch ‘em and keep ‘em society,” said
the Governor of Armley Prison, Mr S N Roberts, referring to himself and Mr
Joseph Farndale, Chief Constable of Bradford. They both spoke at the Eastbrook
Wesleyan brotherhood, yesterday, the Chief Constable being in the chair. Mr.
Roberts said that the prisons were receiving a different type of person than
they got many years ago. “That is partly due,” he said, “to the lives so many
young folks live. So many of them get into the habit of spending 25s for every
pound they earn, and there is bound to be a crash. Unfortunately some of them
land into our hands. If we treat them as having made mistake, and not as
being really wicked, I think we shall be able to help them.” Mr. Roberts
added that people had no right to expect a discharged prisoner to make further
payment after he had paid the price the law demanded.
1928
The Yorkshire
Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 30 April 1928: DUKE’S COMPLIMENT. MUCH
IMPRESSED BY THE POLICE OF BRADFORD. The chief constable of Bradford, Mr Joseph
Farndale, has received the following telegram from the Duke of York,
respecting the police arrangements for the Royal visit to the city on Friday:
“Warmly congratulate you and all concerned on the admirable arrangements made
today. Was much impressed by the appearance and efficiency of the police.
ALBERT.”
Joseph was the first chairman of the new Police
Athletics Association, formed in 1928. The Leeds Mercury, 29 June 1928: POLICE
ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION. TRIBUTE TO THE WORK OF CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT
ASPINALL. From our own correspondent,
Selby, Thursday. The police forces in England, Scotland and Wales are being
asked to take part in a great athletic festival, to be heard on held on August
11, at the Liverpool Police athletic ground. The Police Athletic Association
has just been formed, and the Prince of Wales is the first patron, the Chief
Constable of Bradford, Mr. J Farndale, is chairman, and Mr H rich, chief
constable of Middlesbrough, honourable secretary and, the joint presidents
being the Secretary of State for Home Affairs and the Secretary of State for
Scotland. The first annual champ championship sports to be held as stated at
Liverpool are open to all police forces in Great Britain that are affiliated to
the PAA. The new Association will be affiliated to the AAA, SAAA, NCU, and
NAWA. 17 championships will be decided, including sprints, flat races, relay,
walking match, long and high jump, cycle and hurdle races, wrestling, putting
the shot, and throwing the hammer. The winner of each championship will hold
the trophy for one year. The man who has brought to a successful issue the new
organisation is the Superintendent of Selby police, Superintendent H Aspinall,
who is corresponding secretary of the competition.
1929
There was some confusion in 1929 about the
permissability of mask wearing. The Leeds Mercury, 11 January 1929: LOVE
MATCHES AT DANCES. A BRADFORFD TOPIC. SHOULD THESE MASKS BE BANNED? From our
Bradford Staff, Thursday. Someone is trying to settle the Bradford Watch Committee
with the reputation of “killjoy.” When the Bradford Automobile Club sent a
circular announcing its fancy dress dinner dance to the Bradford office
of the Leeds Mercury today, a Reporter was set wondering by a footnote reading:
“the Bradford Watch Committee prohibits the use of masks.” although the
Watch Committee has much to do, including “the execution of all duties and the
exercising of the powers devolving upon or exercisable by the Council under the
Chimney Sweepers Acts, Explosive Acts, Performing Animals Acts,” and so on, censorship
of fancy dress costumes appears to be no part of its duties, unless of
course it comes under the Wild Birds Protection Acts, 1882 at 1908. Mr George
Muff, a member of the committee, told the Reporter he knew of no such ban on
masks. “I can only suggest that as there are so many love matches made at
fancy dress balls, the Chief Constable thinks people should make them with
their eyes open; and seeing that so much of the rest of the body is visible
it would be a pity to cover up the face.” he said. “A mask gives a fellow like
me a chance to get hold of a pretty girl for a dance, and it gives a girl with
neither good looks nor anything else the hope of getting off for a dance, if
not for good.” The Chief Constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, said: “I don't know
that we make any reservations about masks. What happens is this: that the
licences of dance rooms are held responsible to the justices as to the
costumes, and possibly, therefore, they feel their licences would be endangered
if any complaint were made as to the doings of any person present. It is a
matter for the management.” The Midland Hotel, where the Automobile Club Dance
will be held, knows nothing of the alleged “prohibition” and no stipulation is
made by the management.
The Leeds
Mercury, 4 April 1929: HOLIDAY ‘SAFETY FIRST’. HEAVY MOTOR TRAFFIC
MAKES PEOPLE CAUJTIOUS. From our Bradford Staff, Wednesday. During the holidays
there was no serious accident in Bradford. The Chief Constable, Mr Joseph
Farndale, in conversation with the Mercury, said that at holiday times, when
the streets are busy, accidents are less common. “The increase in
accidents,” Mr Farndale went on, “is not as large as might be gathered from
reading the newspapers. They collect the accidents during the weekend from
all over the country and have a column headed “weekend fatalities”. The column
would be just as long if they were to collect the number of people scalded by
their firesides during each weekend. In the last few years traffic has gone up
100%, and fatal accidents only 2%.” Mr Farndale holds that the safety first
campaign is bearing fruit, and that pedestrians are more careful in crossing
the roads.
Joseph Farndale was the inventor of the police box
(and therefgore the Tardis).
The Leeds Mercury 24 June 1929:
POLICE BOX INVENTOR. Several Yorkshire towns are greatly interested in
Bradford's discovery that the man who invented the police boxes with which,
as in the case of other places throughout the country, that city is shortly to
be “ringed”, is its own chief constable, Mr Joseph Farndale. He has just
revealed that he was the first to suggest such a scheme, in a talk with
a government inspector six or seven years ago. Mr Farndale is a native of
Wakefield, where he was born 65 years ago, and he attended the Field House
Academy, Aberford. Attracted by a police career he joined the Halifax force
when he was 20 years of age, and in 1893, when he had risen to be second in
command at Halifax, was appointed chief constable of Margate. After four years
Mr Farndale became chief constable of York, and in 1900 succeeded Mr Roderick
Ross as Chief Constable of Bradford, where a feature of his administration has been
his provision for the organised recreation of members of the force.
The Yorkshire
Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 24 July 1929. POLICE STATIONS IN MINIATURE. Bradford chief
constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, who is a native of Wakefield, should, I am told,
be a proud man when London adopts the police telephone boxes that already
“ring” several cities in the provinces, including Newcastle and Manchester, and
will shortly be installed at Bradford. The idea of these miniature police
stations, kiosk shaped, and equipped with a telephone, desk and red warning
lamp outside the four policemen on patrol, came first from Mr Farndale, who
suggested them when a government inspector visited Bradford six years ago to
inspect the cities 12 district police stations. Talk turned on the convenience
of the stations, and Mr Farndale explained that by his police box system
there could be a police service at as many as 100 points in the city,
instead of the present 12 points. The plan was tried at Sunderland and
other places, and now London is to make a start with seventy of the boxes. It
is hoped that they will prove to be as convenient to reach as fire alarm boxes.
Mr Farndale started his police career at Halifax in 1884, and became chief
constable at Bradford in 1900 after three years as chief constable of York.
Another visit to Bradford by the Prince of Wales
in 1929. The Yorkshire
Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 13 November 1929: PRINCE’S VISIT TO
BRADFORD. COMMERCE HOUSE OPENING AT NOON TODAY. BUSY FIVE HOURS. Bradford
citizens are ready to give a Royal Yorkshire welcome to His Royal Highness
the Prince of Wales on his visit to the city today. The Prince last visited
not the prince's last visit was in 1923, when he opened the new buildings at
the Royal Institution for the Blind at Frizinghall and distributed cheques to
representatives of the local hospitals... The Prince will be met at the
Exchange Station by the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Alderman Angus H Rhodes,... the
Chief Constable, Mr Joseph Farndale...
The Yorkshire
Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 14 November 1929: EARLY ARRIVAL. The
Prince arrived in Bradford at 10:15. He had travelled by train from London,
accompanied by his equerry, Captain Aird, of the Grenadier Guards, and was
accorded an official welcome at the Exchange Station by the Lord Mayor,
Alderman Angus Rhodes, with whom were Mr Douglas Hamilton, president of the
Chamber of Commerce; Mr N L Fleming, town clerk; Mr H T Tulloch, secretary of
the Chamber of Commerce; and the chief constable, Mr Joseph Farndale. He was
loudly cheered as he passed through the centre of the city on his way to fulfil
the first engagement, a visit to the dress goods mill of Messrs John Priestman
and Co at Ashfield, where he saw all the processes of manufacture, from the
state of wool in the top, to the fashioning of the complete fabric, at least,
up to the point where it was sent off to be dyed....
Joseph Farndale presented a portrait of Sir Robert
Peel to the Home Office on behalf of the county and boprough police in November
1929. The Yorkshire Evening Post, 14 November 1929: GIFT
TO HOME OFFICE. BRADFORD CHIEF MAKES A PRESENTATION. A painting of Sir
Robert Peel was presented to the Home Office today by Mr. J Farndale, chief
constable of Bradford, on behalf of the county and borough police forces of
England and Wales, to mark the attainment of its centenary. The portrait is
a full length cover life-size picture in oils, which Mr H W Pickersgill RA,
painted just a century ago, when Sir Robert was Secretary of State for the home
department. He is shown shown holding in his right hand a document, on which is
inscribed, “the Metropolitan Police draught bill.”
The Tamworth
Herald, 23 November 1929: POLICE GIFT TO THE HOME OFFICE. SIR ROBERT
PEEL’S PORTRAIT. A painting of Sir Robert Peel was presented to the Home Office
on Thursday last week by the county and borough police forces of England and
Wales to express their congratulations to the Metropolitan Police force on
reaching its centenary. The picture is a full length life-size portrait in
oils, which HW Pickersgill RA, painted just a century ago when Sir Robert Peel
was home secretary. He is shown holding in his right hand a document on which
is inscribed: “the Metropolitan Police draught bill.” Mr. J Farndale, Chief
Constable Bradford, made the presentation, and the Home Secretary, in reply,
said that Sir Robert had built better than he knew, and the general social
system had strengthened the reasons which caused him to act at that time. The
police force was now an army of more than 60,690 men. The gift would be
treasured as a portrait in its proper place of a very great man.
The Kinematograph
Weekly, 5 December 1929: LORD MAYOR’S VISIT. There was quite a
large and appreciative audience at the first public exhibition of
“Disraeli”, which took place at St George’s Hall, Bradford on Monday
afternoon. The Lord Mayor of Bradford, Alderman Angus roads, was publicly
welcomed on the stage by Edgar Mitchell. Also present were F Marsden, city
engineer, and the chief constable of Bradford, Joseph Farndale. Mr Farndale
although he saw the film at the private show, expressed his pleasure at once
seeing it again, saying he intended yet again making a visit to St George’s
Hall.
The Leeds
Mercury, 23 December 1929: MORE ROOM FOR BRADFORD CARS. To obviate
congestion by motorists, the Chief Constable of Bradford cover Mr Joseph
Farndale, has added eight parking grounds to the list of 38 which
previously existed. Motorists attending the football matches that Valley Parade
will now be able to leave their cars on the ground which stretches from
Cornwall Road to Trafalgar Street, and patrons of the Prince’s Theatre will be
able to park their vehicles on the ground in St John Street. Other grounds are
in Upper Kirkgate, Rawson Road, Randall Well Street, Thurnscoe Road, Midland
Road and Trinity Road.
1930
In 1930, Joseph had turned his attention back to
intoxicants and drunkenness, particularly where intoxicants were quietly added
to ginger beer.
The Yorkshire
Evening Post 22 January 1930:
SOMETHING
IN THE GINGER ALE. BRADFORD LEANINGS. INSIDE INN SIGNS OF POTENT PORTENT.
Mention of signs
made by public house customers when they want “something in” there ginger ale,
was made by the Chief Constable of Bradford, Mr. J Farndale, giving evidence
before the Royal Commission on Licencing, in London, today.
Mr Farndale
suggested that there should be a return to the old system whereby police,
finding persons on licenced premises in non permitted hours, should be able to
call on them to satisfy a court that they were there legally.
“When we
find persons on licenced premises during non permitted hours now,” he said,
“Unless we can prove consumption of intoxicants they are committing no
offence”.
He suggested
that drinking went on behind locked doors during closing hours, when to
all outward appearances the public houses were closed, and added: “If the
police visit a house in the afternoon, one of the favourite drinks is ginger
ale, and it is difficult for the police to prove there are intoxicants in it. There
are certain signs between customer and barmaid or licensee when he wants
something in the ginger ale.”
Drunkenness
increasing.
“It is my
opinion that the wave of sobriety immediately after the after the War is now
moving in the opposite direction, and drunkenness is increasing.” Mr Gerald
France: “In what class of community is this drunkenness most observable?” Mr
Farndale: “Among the middle-aged. There is not much drunkenness among young
people, I am pleased to say.” “Would you attribute to the clubs a certain
proportion of this drunkenness?” “Very much of it. The publican takes great
care not to permit drunkenness on his premises. I contend that where drink is
sold and consumed the law should apply equally throughout.” Mr Farndale
concluded that he welcomed the tide house system, as it led to better
supervision.
The Edinburgh
Evening News, 22 January 1930: SIGNALS TO BARMAIDS. GINGER ALE WITH A
DUIFFERENCE. INCREASED DRUNKENNESS. Mystic signals between barmaids and
customers were referred to before the royal Commission on licencing in
London today. Mr. J Farndale, Chief Constable Bradford, said that if the police
visited a public house in the afternoon one of the favourite drinks was ginger
ale, and it was difficult for the police to prove there were intoxicants in it.
“There are certain signs,” he declared, “between customer and barmaid or
licensee when he wants something in the ginger ale. It is my opinion,” added Mr
Farndale, “that the wave of sobriety immediately after the War is now moving
in the opposite direction and that drunkenness is increasing.”
There were continued misogynist victorian views of
women and drinking. The Western Daily Press 22 January 1930: DOES
MODERN WOMAN DRINK MORE? SHE NOW VISITS PUBLIC HOUSES OPENLY. BUT USED TO ENTER
BACK DOOR SLYLY. OPINIONS VARY. … WHEN THEY ENTERED SLYLY. Evidence before the
Royal Commission on licencing yesterday concerned the sobriety or otherwise of
modern women, and their changed attitude to public houses. It was
claimed by the Rhonda Stipendary Magistrate, that the Welsh women were sober,
and that few visited licenced houses, but the Hull Stipendiary expressed
the opinion that whereas women once entered public houses slightly by the back
door, they now visited them quite openly and such drinking was more in evidence....
Mr J R MacDonald, Stipendary Magistrate for Hull, giving evidence, said “A
decent woman has not the same feeling about going into a public house as she
had when I was a youngster. I was shocked, as a young man, when I saw a
woman going into a public house. I do not think I would be shocked
nowadays.” Dealing with the general question of drinking by women, and
referring particularly to wife desertion, Mr Joseph Farndale, chief constable
of Bradford, said that the number of cases in which it was alleged that drink
had caused recourse to proceedings under the Married Women Acts was almost
negligible. Drinking by women on licenced premises is more in evidence today.
At one time women entered public houses slyly by the back door. Today they
enter quite openly by the front door.”
The Shipley
Times and Express, 1 February 1930: POLICE DENY ROUGH METHODS. At a meeting of
the Bradford Corporation Watch Committee, on Friday of last week, a long
discussion took place on the allegation put forward by the Trades Council, at
the instance of the Shipley Trades Council that police officers in the Bradford
Force had used unduly rough method methods to women on picket duty
during the recent strike at Lunds Mill, Bolton Woods, Frizinghall. The chief
constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, submitted reports denying these allegations.
A resolution was passed supporting the claim that the allegations were
unfounded.
There was a bit of a ‘spat’ between Joseph and an
inspectior at an Inquiry in March 1930. The Leeds Mercury, 20 March 1930: POLICE
CHIEF AND AN INSPECTOR. CONFLICT AT A LEEDS INQUIRY. The Chief Constable of
Bradford, Mr. J Farndale, and Mr. J Atkinson, an inspector of the ministry of
transport, came into conflict at the hearing, at the education offices, Leeds,
yesterday, at an appeal by Messrs Wood Brothers (Blackpool) Limited against the
refusal of Leeds Corporation and the Corporations of Bradford and Halifax to
grant licences to three of their motor buses to ply for hire between Blackpool,
Blackburn, Halifax, Bradford, and Leeds. The “breeze” occurred when the
chief constable of Bradford was dealing with Bradford's position. The Inspector
had intimated he was concerned with the Blackburn route to Blackpool and had
not with all the alternative routes, and that as the appellant’s original
application showed this route, the route must be considered. Mr Farndale said the
Bradford Watch Committee had only been concerned with the application as to a
through service. They had considered nothing more than a through passenger
service between Bradford and Blackpool. The inspector: “Do you mean that the
Watch Committee as a statutory committee did not consider the conditions
contained in the companies letter?” “That is so.” The inspector: “Am I to
report to the minister that the chief constable of Bradford informs me that the
conditions upon which these licences were asked were not laid before the
committee?” “Was the letter laid before your committee?” “No”. No attempt to
mislead. The Inspector added he would not have it said that the chief constable
was the person who suggested that licences should be issued. Being in a
statutory position, the committee had a duty to act in a judicial manner,
and the opinion of an official was not evidence on which they could act. Mr
Farndale: “All these applications all set out on the agenda, giving the name of
the firm, and the destination. I give the existing services, and so on, and all
and that the committee can come to their decision.” The Inspector: “Would
not that be misleading if they did not have the formal evidence before them?”
“I have never misled my committee, and I do not intend to do so.” Evidence
was given on behalf of Halifax corporation as to the services already in
existence. This concluded the inquiry. There was a similar report in The Yorkshire
Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 20 March 1930: BUS LICENCES TO BLACKPOOL.
BRADFORD CHIEF CONSTABLE AND INSPECTOR. ‘BREEZE’ AT INQUIRY.
The Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 5 April
1930: BRADFORD BUSES TO MANCHESTER. INQUIRY INTO REFUSAL TO GRANT LICENCE.
COMMITTEE PROCEDURE. The refusal of the Bradford corporation licencing
committee to granted licence to message on Hurst and Co of Ripponden near
Halifax, to run a bus service between Bradford and Manchester was the subject
of administrative transport inquiry at Bradford yesterday.... The chief
constable, Mr. J farndale, said the committee were guided by the public demand
for these licences...
The Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 14 May
1930: SAFETY FIRST. LEEDS COOPERATION IN THE NATIONAL WEEK. Leeds safety
first council is cooperating in the National Safety first the National
Safety week, from Monday next until May 21.... a similar campaign is to be held
in Bradford, commencing on Sunday, with a service at Eastbrook hall, to be
addressed by the West Riding organiser, Mr T Goodall, with the Chief Constable
of Bradford, Mr J Farndale in the chair....
Noise
pollution from loud gramaphones was an issue in December 1930. The Leeds
Mercury, 11 December 1930: DISTURBING ELEMENTS. The Chief Constable of
Bradford, Mr Joseph Farndale, has received complaints from various people of
grammar phones and wireless loud speakers being on operated in such a way as to
become annoying. I can sympathise with those people who have made the
complaints, writes the Bradford correspondent, for up to a short time ago I
myself was a victim of such suffering. I live at a point on which the sound
waves from three gramophones were focused. On one occasion the
gramophones played simultaneously, “It ain't gonna rain no more,” “Everyone
calls me Tarzan,” and “I parted my hair in the middle.” At the same time a
piano broadcast: “Won't you buy my pretty flowers?”. The climax came, and this
was one of the reasons for my having since removed, when a young man next door
started a jazz band.
Traffic
Commissioner 1930 to 1938
The Sheffield
Daily Telegraph 16 December 1930 (and reported in multiple newspapers): Mr
Joseph Farndale, the Chief Constable of Bradford, has been appointed the
traffic commissioner for Yorkshire.
The Leeds
Mercury, 16 December 1930: TRAFFIC CHIEF IN YOPRKSHIRE. MR J FARNDALE
APOINTED. The chief constable of Bradford, Mr Joseph Farndale, has been appointed
chairman of the traffic commissioners for Yorkshire by the Ministry of
Transport. He will take up his duties on January 1, and his resignation
as chief constable will be considered by the corporation Watch Committee on
Friday. Mr Farndale’s new headquarters will be in Leeds. Mr Farndale,
who was born in 1864, has been chief constable at Bradford for 30 years. He was
educated at the Fieldhouse Academy, Aberford, and at 19 forsook chemistry for
the police force, joining the Halifax force as a constable. Promotion came
quickly and it was when he was second in command that he was appointed to the
position of chief constable Margate, where he spent five years. In 1897 he left
Margate to be chief constable of York, and three years later he came to fill a
similar position at Bradford. At the end of the War Mr Farndale received the
honour of CBE. Mr Farndale will always be remembered in Bradford police circles
for the work he has done in the interests of his men. He was responsible
for the formation of the Bradford City police band, acknowledged to be one of
the foremost combinations of its kind in the north. It was due to him that many
of the recreative sides of the force came into existence.
The Sheffield
Daily Telegraph, 18 December 1930: TRAFFIC COMMISSIONERS. CAN YORKSHIRE CHAIRMAN
SPEAK YORKSHIRE? Asked by Mr Thomas Snowden whether he was now in a position to
announce the appointment of the chairman of the traffic commissioners for
Yorkshire and eastern areas, Mr Herbert Morrison said he had appointed Mr. J
Farndale CBE at present Chief Constable Bradford. Sir Haviland Hiley, KBE,
whose appointment he announced on December 10th, would be the chairman of the
Eastern Area. Mr. T Snowden: “Can he say if Mr Farndale is a Yorkshireman?”
Mr Morrison: “Yes, Sir.” Mr Snowden: “Can he speak the Yorkshire language?”
(Laughter). There was no answer.
There was contorversy, particularly in the
Socialist Party about appointing a retired Chief Constable, entitled to a two
thirds of salary pension to a salaried role of Traffic Commissioner. The Nottingham
Journal 18 December 1930: Newspaper House, Wednesday night. The announcement
made today of the appointment of the last of the nine commissioners under
the new traffic act is unpopular with the Labour Party. West Riding with
socialist members in particular told me that they have no personal objection to
the chief constable Bradford becoming the commissioner for their area. On the
contrary, if they had their way Mr Farndale would have been more greatly
honoured some time ago. Socialists generally, however, are uneasy for the
preservation of the principle of one man one job or put it more accurately, one
man one income. So many of these new commissioners appointed by Mr Morrison
have been gentlemen with substantial pensions in addition to the very
adequate salaries their new posts carry. It is inconceivable to them that efficient
men could not have been found from among those who were not eligible for
retiring pensions. As it is, the minister has not satisfied his colleagues with
having looked far beyond the services and the bar for men who, after all, will
be required to exercise more than purely prohibitive functions. There are other
things in the spirit of the Traffic Act beyond
ensuring clean number plates and an insurance certificate. Is it possible that
there are no organisers outside the police or War Office? Anyway, the
socialists tell me they intend to try to find this out at Question Time
tomorrow.
The Leeds
Mercury 17 December 1930: YORKSHIRE’S NEW TRAFFIC CHIEF. The
members of the Bradford City police force learnt with mixed feelings of the
appointment of their chief constable, Mr Joseph Farndale, as chairman of the
traffic commissioners for Yorkshire. They will be the first to congratulate
him, but they will also be the first to regret his departure from the
city. For “the Chief” is loved by them all. I have been in contact
with members of the Bradford force now for many years, and always I have
heard him referred to in the to in terms of the deepest admiration and respect.
Those under him who have had to go into the long room he occupies immediately
under the town hall clock, and offer explanations in reply to his searching
questions, are probably the loudest in their praise of him. They say of him
that he will always listen to a “straight tale,” that he is scrupulously
fair, ready to afford a second and often third chance, and that none
but the deliberate liar need fear him. This is the third appointment under the new
Road Act to go to an applicant from Yorkshire.
The Yorkshire
Post and Leeds Intelligencer 19 December 1930: YORKSHIRE TRAFFIC POST.
QUESTION ABOUT SALARY OF MR FARNDALE. Mr H Morrison, Minister of Transport,
replying to Mr longbottom, Socialist, Halifax, said that Mr Farndale, chief
constable of Bradford, had been appointed by him as chairman of the traffic
commissioners for Yorkshire for a term of three years at a salary of £1,000 per
annum. He was 65 years old and would, he understood, be entitled to a
pension in respect of his past service in the police force on the usual
scale.
The Leeds
Mercury 19 December 1930: SALARY AND PENSION. BRADFORD SOCIALISTS
CRITICISE MR FARNDALE’S APPOINTMENT. The appointment of Mr Joseph Farndale,
chief constable Bradford, as chairman of the traffic commissioners of
Yorkshire, was criticised at a meeting of Bradford trades council tonight.
Resolutions were being discussed for submission to a conference of Yorkshire
Federated Trades Councils, to be held at Sheffield. A Brighouse resolution
expressed the opinion that where an adequate pension was paid upon retirement,
it should be made a condition that the recipient did not engage in paid
employment. Mr. James Harrison, a socialist member of Bradford City
council, said that Bradford was providing a bad example of what should not be
done. A corporation official whose pension on leaving would be about £880 per
annum, had been appointed to another position at a salary of £1,000. As a
council, they had always been opposed to retired policeman of any rank taking
positions and it was altogether out of reason that such a thing should be done
when there were between two and three millions of unemployed in the country.
A reflection as he ended his career as Chief
Constable reflected on the old days, and the more recent innovations of the
Police Box, the Flying Squad and the use of police radios. The Leeds
Mercury, 20 December 1930: ROBERT IS DIFFERENT SAYS MR JOSEPH FARNDALE.
THIRTY YEARS A CHIEF. From our Bradford Staff, Friday. 30 years a chief constable.
It is a big slice out of a man's life. For so long has Mr Joseph Farndale been
Chief Constable of Bradford, and when, at the Watch Committee meeting this
afternoon, he handed in his resignation to take effect at the year end, thus
enabling him to take his appointment as Chairman of the Traffic Commissioners
for Yorkshire, he found the wrench hard to make. One who was there, said
afterwards, “When he referred to his men and their loyalty to him he could
hardly speak, and was almost in tears.” He himself said, “To part with
my men now is like parting with one's family.” Before the meeting, he
talked with a Mercury reporter of his 30 years as a chief constable.
Since 1900, he said, the strength of the Bradford force have been increased by
75%, pay of a police constable by 140%, and the higher ranks had also received
considerable percentage increases. “The duties of a policeman have increased
enormously in importance, and today we are recruiting men of a class
totally different from that of 30 years ago. We have degree men in
the force, and we draw from the secondary schools. Recruits before
they become constables, are given an intensive training which did not exist
when I became chief.” Thirty years ago the duties of a policeman in Bradford
were occupied largely with rowdies in certain parts of the city, which were
known for the violence of the characters frequenting them. The helmet was
needed to save the old time policeman's head from violence. It was his
crash helmet, protecting him from the sticks and weapons of hooligans. Such
protection is seldom required now, said Mr Farndale, the city is practically
quiet. As time went by the police forces had to equip themselves to deal with
the problems presented by a modern world. Fast moving traffic came. The crooks
made full use of it. The police checkmate was the Flying Squad. Mr
Farndale was the first chief constable to realise that the old type of
police stations were out of date. The modern crook moves so quickly that
unless he is caught red handed, the chances of capture dwindle. So Mr
Farndale scrapped all the old police stations in Bradford and planned 100 fully
equipped police boxes on the very doorsteps of the citizens. By using the
police box system, he said, citizens can obtain the assistance of the
police almost at a moment’s notice. Now experiments are going on to ascertain
the extent to which the police can make use of wireless in the detection
and prevention of crime. The questions of secret wavelengths and codes
has to be considered. Experiments are being conducted in Bradford with wireless
vans, which will mature in the very near future. Such vans would be able to
patrol the city at regular periods of the day, receiving instructions from
headquarters by wireless, and acting on them without being under the
necessity of making points at given times. The hooligans of the old days who
committed crime crimes of violence against the person were often caught red
handed. The type of crime prevailing today, however, requires great
investigative investigation qualities, hence our detective department
department with its highly qualified staff. Mr Farndale paid a warm tribute
to his detectives. Bradford, he said, is fortunate in having a very
efficient effect detective staff in the charge of Superintendent Petty, who
started his police career in the same year that I was appointed Chief
Constable. No murder of recent years has gone undetected. What of the
police force 30 years hence? “I do not see that there can be any greater
demand on the intelligence of the police force of the future than there is
today,” he said. “full advantage, of course, will have to be taken off
scientific developments.” Mr Farndale believes in the local force doing its
job without calling in outside aid. “It is not altogether what a detective
knows,” he said. “it is what he can get to know. People are more likely to
give information and assistance to them to men they know, representing
their own force, rather than to a stranger. I believe in the local force doing
its own job when it is as efficient as that of the Bradford force, which has
never failed yet.”
His funny stories were still the same stories as
he always told (see the same stories told on 9 April 1914)! The Leeds Mercury 24 December 1930: ON THE
BEAT. Chatting with Mr Joseph Farndale who is resigning his post as chief
constable of Bradford to take up his appointment as Chairman of the Traffic
Commissioners for Yorkshire, I was told two good stories of recruits of his
early days. One of these recruits had been appointed to a beat, but he failed
to make his point with the Sergeant. A search was made. The Sergeant found him
at home. “What on earth are you doing here?” asked the Sergeant. “Why” said the
recruit “there's nobody out on a night like this!” The other story concerns a
recruit who had been told to devote himself to patrolling a number of
buildings. It was estimated that to do the tour of the buildings with
efficiency and thoroughness would take an hour, so the Sergeant said “Your job
is to walk eight times round.” In three hours, the recruit turned up at the
police station. “I'm going home now,” he said. “I've been round eight times.”
1931
Joseph Farndale began his duties as Chairman of
the Yorkshire Traffic Commissioners on 1 January 1931, which coinccided with
the commencement of the new Road Act and the end of the unobserved 20mph speed
limit. The Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 2
January 1931: COMMISSIONERS IN CHARGE. Mr Joseph Farndale, Chairman of
Commissioners for the Yorkshire traffic area, began his duties yesterday at the
Area Headquarters, 5 Swinegate, Leeds. The Commissioners, only the chairman of
whom has been appointed, are the first occupants of the new offices,
comprising 3 floors and a basement directed by the Leeds Corporation as a
frontage to the extension of these Swinegate tramway depot. All official
communication should be addressed to Mr Jr Williams, clerk to the
commissioners, at that address. So far as outward appearances go, writes the
motoring correspondence of the Yorkshire Post, the operation of the new Act
appears to have little or no visible effect. This is due, of course, to the
fact that the abolition of the speed limit is more a matter of legal
definition than of actual practise, as the old speed limit of 20 miles
an hour has not been observed for years past. Observation of the road
yesterday, therefore, disclosed but little, if any alteration. Nor did reports
received by the Automobile Association and the automobile club from their
scouts indicate any change of behaviour.
The Road Traffic
Act 1930 for the ‘control of traffic on the roads’ followed the Royal
Commission report on transport. Speedometers on cars were made compulsory from
1932 and speed limits for cars were removed because ‘the existing speed limit
was so universally disobeyed that its maintenance brought the law into
contempt. At the same time, the Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act
1930 protected motorists who suffered accidents.
The debate about Joseph’s appointment after his
retirement from the police continued. The Leeds Mercury, 16 January 1931: ‘MUCH
MALIGNED MAN’. Mr F Radcliffe said Mr Farndale was a much maligned man
both from the democratic and municipal points of view. So far as the new
appointment was concerned there was not a better man in the district for the
job. Mr J W Flanigan, who also paid tribute to Mr Farndale, said the country
was run by permanent officials. Mr A R Ellis said if the resolution was passed
it would “tacked upon an individual.” The real feeling of the meeting was that
they were opposed to the appointment of men who were passed the retiring age
to highly remunerative posts, when they were already entitled to retire on
pensions of something like £800 a year. He moved the successful amendment that
a deputation be appointed to meet the Minister of Transport to hear his side of
the story.
The Leeds
Mercury, 16 January 1931: FROM OUR BRADFORD STAFF. A resolution
brought by Bradford Typographical Society to Bradford Trades Council tonight, protesting
against the appointment of the former Chief Constable of Bradford, Mr Joseph
Farndale, to the position of chairman of the Yorkshire Traffic
Commissioners, was deferred, and amendment, proposing that a deputation
should meet Mr Herbert Morrison, Minister of Transport, on the matter, was
carried. Mr Morrison is to visit Bradford shortly. Commenting on the
resolution, a delegate said they were tackling the thing at the wrong end. It
was useless bothering their heads about people getting situations in which
there was no scope for the working class. They should occupy themselves with
the question of constables retiring on pension and filling jobs which could be
filled by the unemployed. Another delegate said they were not concerned with
this appointment in particular. It was the whole system that was wrong. It was
likely that Mr Farndale's appointment had been suggested to the minister by
some permanent officials.
The Halifax
Evening Courier 16 January 1931: DEPUTATION TO MINISTER. BRADFORD TRADES
COUNCIL AND TRAFFIC APPOINTMENTS. A suggestion that the Bradford Trades Council
should protest against the appointment of the Chief Constable of the city, Mr.
J Farndale, as Traffic Commissioner, was made at the meeting of the council
last night. One of the grounds of the protest was that Mr Farndale “he is
already entitled to inadequate retiring allowance.” …
The Shipley
Times and Express 17 January 1931: COUNCILLOR T J GRAY AND THE GOVERNMENT. HAS
TO BE FORCED TO DFO THINGS. CRITICISM OF TRANSPORT APPOINTMENTS. Speaking at
the annual meeting of the Shipley Trades and Labour Council, at which Mr. J
Hudson presided on Tuesday, Councillor TJ Grey JP, chairman of the Shipley
Urban Council, frankly stated his views with regard to the present state of
unemployment..... “Some steps ought to be taken,” he said “to organise
labour against the attitude of the government of this country in giving jobs
to men like Farndale, of Bradford, and Chamberlain, of Leeds, who are in
receipt of big fat pensions, and who are going on to ages of 70 and 75 at
£1000 a year salaries.”...
The Leeds
Mercury 22 January 1931: MR FARNDALE’S PENSION. HALIFAX MEMBER ASKED
QUESTIONS IN COMMONS. Mr Longbottom, Socialist, Halifax cover asked the
Minister of Transport, in the House of Commons yesterday, whether seeing he
has appointed Mr Joseph Farndale CBE ex chief constable of Bradford, to be
chairman of the traffic commissioners for Yorkshire, he will state the amount
per and that Mr Farndale will receive in pension for past services in the
police force. Mr Morrison said he understood the usual practise was to grant
2/3 of salary for pension purposes, and as Mr Farndale’s salary was £1,250,
presumably he would get about £800 a year. Ministerial ministerial cries of
“oh.”. Mr Longbottom asked the Minister if he would see that in all
appointments of inspectors and examiners under the Road
Traffic Act 1930, they should be persons not in receipt of
pensions from positions previously held. Mr Morrison went on “I will
bear in mind the suggestion of the honourable member, with which I am in
general sympathy, but the predominant consideration must be the selection of
the best qualified candidate in each case.” Mr Farndale is to have £1,000 a
year for his new work.
Joseph Farndale was given a good send off from the
Bradford Police. The Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 6
February 1931:
FAREWELL TO
CHIEF CONSTABLE. BRADFORD’S OFFICERS’ TRIBUTES TO MR FARNDALE.
Over 300 officers
and men of the Bradford City police force and Bradford special constablry
paraded at the Belle Vue Barracks, Bradford, yesterday, when presentations were
made to Mr Joseph Farndale, chief constable of the city for 30 years, and now
chairman of the Yorkshire Traffic Commissioners, and Mrs Farndale, who,
unfortunately, was unable to be present. Chief Superintendent Johnson presented
to Mr Farndale a silver plate, which is to be attached to a mahogany
wardrobe, the gifts of the officers and men of the regular force,
and also a Rose Bowl on behalf of the Bradford City Police Athletic
Club.
Expressing
gratitude at the treatment received by the force from Mr Farndale, Chief
Superintendent Johnson said the Chief’s view had always been prompted by justice
and fairness, and they would remember him for his humanity and
enthusiasm. They wished him success in his new position, and hoped he and
Mrs Farndale would have health and prosperity for many years to come.
(Applause). Superintendent Turner, Superintendent Chapman, Chief Inspector
Bowden, who referred to the many occasions when he had had to approach Mr
Farndale with requests on behalf of the men, and Sergeant Cook also spoke. Mr
Frank Greenwood, deputy chairman of the Corporation Watch Committee and chairman
of the Special Constabulary, presented Mr Farndale with a cut glass electric
reading lamp on behalf of the Specials. Mr Greenwood said Mr Farndale had
given the Specials every assistance he could. Mr E Hoyle, treasurer, Mr W
Taylor and Superintendent Taylor also spoke for the Specials.
Expressing
thanks, Mr Farndale said that if a man took on the position he had held for
so long simply for the remuneration he would be a decided failure. He must
have the heart and mind to do right to those who honoured him with their
confidence, and go beyond the question of LSD. He had felt that from the first
day he joined the service, and had tried to recruit into the service men of
that class, not men who were simply seeking a job for the remuneration, but men
with the best intention of serving the public to the best of their ability.
That had been his guide, and he had still to find a decided failure. That was
what made him proud at the moment. Referring to the value of the special
constables, Mr Farndale said they had set an example which ought to be
followed not by hundreds but by thousands of men in the city. On behalf of the
Police, Mr Farndale then presented gold watches to two Bradford boys who
helped acting Sergeant Downey in apprehending a thief on December 13. The boys
were Douglas James Walton, 15, and Ernest William Mullin, both of Fitzgerald
Street.
The Leeds
Mercury 06 February 1931: BRADFORD CHIEF CONSTABLE’S FAREWELL. “No
matter where I am, I shall be a policeman to the end of my time. I cannot
help it. I was practically born into the service, and I shall die in the
service, although I may not be an active member”. In those words Mr Joseph
Farndale for 30 years chief constable Bradford, said farewell to his men as
they stood, forming a great square of blue, at Belle Vue barracks yesterday
afternoon. It was an occasion all those present will remember, the final March,
the old “Chief” standing at the salute, and then the police band playing
“Auld Lang Syne.” “I leave my reputation in your hands, and I leave it
wholeheartedly because I know you will never fail. He said “I want my successor
to realise that the men I have put in service, and the officers I have
promoted, are the right men to serve this city, and that they will continue to
serve it to the end of their day.”
Chief
Superintendent Johnson presenting a token of Bradford esteem to his retiring
chief, Mr Joseph Farndale, who has been appointed Chairman of Traffic
Commissioners for Yorkshire. By a Mercury photographer.
And
so Joseph Farndale’s work as Chairman of the Yorkshire Traffic Commissioners
began. LNER OPPOSITION. SHEFFIELD TO SKEGNESS MOTOR COACH
SERVICE. When the Yorkshire Area Traffic Commissioners, under the chairmanship
of Mr. J Farndale, resumed their public sitting at Sheffield yesterday, the
United Motor Services applied for a renewal of a licence for a service between
Sheffield and Skegness, Mablethorpe and Sutton on sea....
The Trafic Commissioners for Great Britain were
responsible for the licensing and regulation of the operators of heavy goods
vehicles, buses and coaches, and the registration of local bus services
within Great Britain (not the whole of the UK). Hansard, Volume 244, 5
November 1930 defined The main duties to be performed by the Area Traffic
Commissioners, otherwise than in the Metropolitan Traffic Area, may he
summarised as follows: (1) The granting of public service vehicle licences and
the inspection of such vehicles from the point of view of fitness and
suitability; (2) The granting and backing of road service licences and the
attaching of conditions thereto for the control and co-ordination of passenger
services by road; (3) The granting of licences to drive or to act as conductor
of a public service vehicle; (4) The granting of consents to local authorities
to operate public service vehicles on routes outside their areas under Part V
of the Act; (5) Advising the Minister on orders made by local authorities under
Section 90 of the Act in respect of the routes, stopping places, parking places
and stands for public service vehicles; (6) All matters incidental to the above
such as: (a) The holding of public sittings for the hearing of applications
for, and objections to, the grant or backing of road service licences and for other
purposes; (b) The collection of fees; (c) The keeping of accounts and records;
(d) The presentation of an annual report, etc.
The Leeds Mercury, 3 June 1931: TRAFFIC
BIG THREE. COMMISSIONERS AT WORK. Leeds had its first experience yesterday of the
new Traffic Commission which will play a vital part in the development of this
country in the next few years. Three elderly gentlemen, plainly
dressed and serious looking, sat on the bench occupied at other times by a High
Court judge. They combine both executive and judicial functions. Their
jurisdiction embraces over 4000 motor buses over 6000 drivers. On semi
circular benches in front of them were other gentlemen, piles of papers, plans
and maps. High above the jury box hung a huge map of Leeds covered
with wriggling lines in gay colours. Beneath, alone, was a young man who
rose from time to time and prodded the map with long pointer. The court also
contains shorthand writers, clerks and three people in the public gallery. The
presiding commissioner, Mr Joseph Farndale, was formerly chief constable of
Bradford. He is white haired. Without his moustache he would look like some
of the assize judges who have often occupied that chair. He speaks slowly,
giving weight to every word.
The Leeds Mercury 06 June 1931: JOURNIES
TO THE SEA. Applications to run express services between Leeds, and Blackpool,
Morecambe, Scarborough, Filey and Bridlington were made by Mrs R Bark (Leeds)
Limited. Mr Barr said he had taken at a yearly average of 16,000 people to
Blackpool at the August bank holiday and at August bank holiday used as many as
40 coaches, some obtained from other companies by arrangement, on the Blackpool
route alone. Mr Farndale remarked that they were very much concerned about
the congestion on the roads at bank holiday times, particularly on the roads to
Blackpool. They had had such alarming reports. Congestion had to be
dealt with by the Commissioners and it was felt important for them to find out
the number of vehicles likely to be on the roads at these rush periods. A
railway official gave evidence that the number of passengers from Leeds to
Blackpool by rail had decreased from 146,000 in 1927 to 127,000 in 1930.
Receipts in the same period had gone down from £36,416 to £23,534.
It soon became necessary to define an ‘excursion’. The Yorkshire
Post and Leeds Intelligencer 6 June 1931: AN EXCURSION BY MOTOR BUS. TRAFFIC
COMMISSIONERS DEFINITION. EMBARRASSING POINT. Particular interest in the
sitting of the Yorkshire traffic commissioners at the town hall, Leeds
yesterday lay in the first announcement of a definition of “excursion”.
The word itself does not occur in the Road Act, but the traffic commissioners
have issued forms of application for licences for “excursions and tours”
as well As for stage carriages and express carriages. Mr. J Farndale, the
presiding commissioner, said yesterday, at the opening of the session, that it
might benefit to the public to know the exact meaning the Commission is applied
to the term. They had decided that an excursion was “a journey to and from a
specified destination to be completed in one day in at an inclusive fare.” in
other words it was a day trip. The condition should be attached to all
licences issued by the commissioners...
The Liverpool
Daily Post, 6 June 1931: ‘EXCURSION’ A DAY TRIP ONLY. BOMBSHELL FOR
MOTOR COACH OWNERS. RULING UPSETS SUMMER PROGRAMMES. A ruling given
yesterday by the Yorkshire Traffic Commissioners, sitting at Leeds town
hall, as to what constitutes an excursion coach for the purposes of a
traffic licence, came as a bombshell to a number of applicants. The
chairman, Mr Joseph Farndale, said an excursion was a journey to an from that
specified destination, to be completed in one day as an inclusive fare; In
other words, it was to be a day trip, and a condition to that effect would be
put on all licences granted in respect of applications for permission run
excursions.
The Yorkshire
Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 13 August 1931: FOUR SEAT CARS. In reply to
Mr Beaumont, for the opposing bus companies, Mr straker said he held it to be
quite possible to run a public service with a four seater car. If his
application was granted he was prepared to purchase six and seven seater cars.
Mr Beaumont: “do you think for strangers who have never seen each other before
would find a journey to Blackpool attractive?” “I do”. The chief come the chief
commissioner, Mr. J farndale: “the sex it will be mixed. Moment came at: “well,
that will make it more attractive.” laughter....
The Sheffield
Daily Telegraph, 14 August 1931: ‘PEOPLE LIKE NICE BUSES’. SHEFFIELD APPLICANT’S
POINT FOR TRAFFIC COMMISSIONERS. Before the Yorkshire traffic commissioners at
York yesterday, Mr JF Skelton of gleadless, Sheffield, applied for an existing
service between works workshop and Sheffield to be increased from A2 hourly
service to an hourly service... Mr EP merit for Ellen yard ask the applicant
what reason he had for suggesting that it was the object to the bus company to
drive the passengers to the railway. Applicant: “well, I know the railways are
not doing very well.” the chief commissioner, Mr. J farndale: “are you a
shareholder?” “no”. Laughter. The applicant said that people had remarked to
him that they preferred to ride in nice bosses like his rather than the grey
green railway buses....
The Sheffield
Daily Telegraph, 30 September 1931: Co-op Tours – Dividend Question raised. At a
sitting of the Yorkshire Traffic Commissioners at Leeds, when the Pendleton
Co-operative Society made application to make excursions and tours through the
Yorkshire area to York, Scarborough and Bolton Abbey, the Chairman, Mr Joseph
Farndale asked “to whom is the dividend credited on the fares for these tours?”
… Mr Farndale “There is a funeral branch, and you can get a dividend on that.”