George Hutton Bowes-Wilson of Hutton Rudby

Martin Eggermont kindly sent me this information on George Hutton Bowes-Wilson.  He was the elder son of Thomas Bowes Wilson (1845-1929) who, with his brother Allan, ran the Cleveland Sailcloth Mill in Hutton Rudby.  

An account of how the family came to Hutton Rudby can be found in James Wilson of Hutton Rudby (c1775-1865).

George was born on 26 October 1873*. 

He was educated at Clifton and New College, Oxford, and qualified as a Solicitor in April 1902.  His offices were at 28 Albert Road, Middlesbrough. 

In 1906 he was elected a Councillor for the Exchange Ward and having been re-elected a number of times, was still in post at the time of his death.  During the intervening years he had served on many committees such as Sanitary, Sanatorium Finance, Streets, General Purposes, Fire Brigade and Cemeteries. 

On 29 September 1908 he married Nora Dulcie Linney at St Peter’s Church, Harrogate. She was aged twenty-three, the only child of the late Herbert Linney. 

George was a Freemason and is recorded in the Ferrum Lodge documents as living at 6 Lothian Road, Middlesbrough when he was proposed for membership; his proposer was W Bro Henry Winterschladen, seconded by W Bro S.F. Thompson, and his initiation in Ferrum Lodge was on 8 March 1911. 

George was later employed in the Treasurer’s Department of the Town Hall, was a representative for Middlesbrough on the North Riding Territorial Association and a Cleveland Unionist Agent. 

Among his many hobbies and interests were golf and cricket and it is known that he played the latter game for Hutton Rudby, being their triumphant captain in the 1905 and 1906 Cleveland and Teesside Cup competitions. 

In July 1914 a new bowling green in Albert Park was opened by Mrs H.W.F. Bolckow; George was the Chairman of the Parks Committee.  At this time he lived at 80 Lothian Road. 

He was also a member of the New Oxford, Cambridge and Cleveland Clubs. 

George was a member of the Territorial Forces.  He was promoted Captain on 1 March 1913 and fought with the 1st/4th Battalion, Alexandra, Princess of Wales’s Own, Yorkshire Regiment (TF), more familiarly known as The Green Howards.    

A letter written by George to Preston Kitchen, Middlesbrough’s Town Clerk and a fellow Freemason (1917 WM Erimus Lodge) was printed in the Daily Gazette on 10 May 1915.

“You will now know our battalion has been in the forefront of the Ypres battle and how badly we suffered – one hundred odd men and five officers killed.
The battalion has been specially complimented by the General on the splendid way it fought in its first engagement. [This is a possible reference to the Yorkshire Regiment because of their bravery and fighting stance, later being dubbed the Yorkshire Ghurkhas.]
Middlesbrough can be proud of her sons. Not a man in my company hesitated.  Tell the people at home this war is by no means over. England will require every man she has before German Militarism can be crushed – and crushed it must be – otherwise all the lives we have lost will be in vain.
So far thank God, I am well. We are now in the thick of it and our losses are growing. Trench life is unpleasant but what a pleasure it is to receive letters from friends. I have not washed or had my boots off for ten days now so you can imagine what I feel like.
You ask me if you can do anything to help.  Yes, send me an occasional Gazette, some chocolate and a nice plum cake if you find time.”

George was killed by a sniper on 17 June 1915.

George Hutton Bowes-Wilson by George Kewley: Middlesbrough Town Hall

*I had the year of George's birth as 1878, but a family tree on Ancestry shows that he was born in the spring of 1877 in Newcastle.

Rudby Parish Magazine: August 1892

The parish magazine was made up of two parts.  The first half consisted of a nationally-produced section and the second half contained the local news.

From the local section for August 1892 we learn of baptisms & burials:

Baptism – July 9th,  of Hannah, daughter of William and Kate Ainsley of Rudby

Burial – July 16th, of John Seymour, aged 78, of Rudby
Burial – July 19th, of Margaret Ward, aged 17, of Hutton

and there are two pages of cricket scores, three matches having being played at the "Skutterskelfe Park Ground."

In the national section of the magazine, there is this enticing recipe:

COTTAGE COOKERY

by M. Rae

Certificated Teacher of Cooker

TURNIPS IN BATTER

Pare away entirely the stringy rind, cut the turnips in quarters, and boil for twenty minutes or half an hour (according to age) in salt and water; when tender, drain well.
Make a batter, with a quarter of a pound of flour, one egg, and a breakfastcupful of milk.  Put the flour into a basin, put the egg in without beating it, add a very little milk, and begin stirring with a wooden spoon.  Mix in the rest of the milk by degrees, beating well all the time so that the batter will neither be lumpy nor stringy.
When quite smooth, put the turnips in a greased dish, pour over the batter, and bake in a quick oven about half an hour.

Hutton Rudby - parish life in the 1890s

An early photograph of All Saints'

A collection of old bound volumes of parish magazines gives us a very full picture of Church and village life in Hutton Rudby in the 1890s.

I will begin with Church affairs - just skip those sections to go straight to other village activities.

These include: the Blanket Club; village cricket; hedge-cutting; and children's prizes & sports.  There are lists of those taking part, which might be useful to family historians. 

According to the account of the Sports Day in 1896,

"The race with the needle and thread created great excitement, as did also the old ladies' race for tea"

But unfortunately, there's no more information on how they were run - or the qualifying age for the old ladies.