Earlston Residents Having Fun in Times Past

As we move into a relaxation of Lockdown, take a look back at how people in Earlston enjoyed themselves in times past.

 

1907 and Earlston Church Choir relaxing on their annual outing, after what must have been a precarious journey  by horse drawn charabanc to Yarrow  - below leaving Earlston from the Red Lion Hotel.

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Thirty years on and  more happy choir members from Earlston Church on their trip to the Trossachs in 1936.

 

Holiday time meant an opportunity to take a trip by train - as reported in  "The
Berwickshire News and General Advertiser:  9th July 1889

 

Earlston Rugby Football  Club is thought to have been formed in the 1870s by two Yorkshiremen who were installing machinery in the local woollen mill.  During the Second World War,  The rugby pitch and club house were requisitioned by the military.  One third of the pitch was dug out and concrete laid to make a "hull down" park for the tanks of the Polish Division stationed in the area,  preparing for D. Day.  Earlston Rugby Club is still active today, though its activities, like so many others, has been curtailed by the Covid pandemic. 

 

An early photograph of Earlston Bowling Club members in relaxing mode.  In a newspaper report of 1881,   it was noted that:

"The club now numbers over 50 members and they have resolved to the formation of a bowling green on the site of the old curling pond. This work is to be done by Mr. Smith, Hawick whose estimate for the work we understand to be £150.  Some farmers interested in the formation of the bowling green will do the  necessary driving of materials gratuitously.  If this bowling club proves a success, Earlston will be amply provided with means of recreation".  

 The Club still plays an important part of the village recreational opportunities. 

 

Earlston Orchestra 1898 - one of the earliest photographs in the Auld Earlston collection. The earliest reference found in the local press to the Orchestral Party (sometimes called Orchestral Society) was in “The Southern Reporter“: 28th October 1886. The occasion was a concert and dance, organised by Earlston Street Lighting Committee to raise funds to provide winter street lighting in the village. After the concert part of the evening, dancing 

Throughout the first half of the 20th century, local newspapers regularly reported on the activities of the orchestra under its conductor Samuel Fisher, playing at many village events. 

 During the First World War, the Orchestral Party was a frequent participant in fund raising concerts, held to provide Christmas gifts to serving soldiers; to assist the War Relief Fund; and for the War Comforts Fund under the banner “Under the Flag of Britain” in a programme of patriotic music.  

But with the death of Samuel Fisher,  in 1938  and the outbreak of war a year later, this once showcase of Earlston musical talent appeared to come to an end.

 

 

Earlston Amateur Dramatic Club regularly presented plays, 

 before bowing out in 1991. 

 

 

May 1937 saw the  Earlston celebrations to mark the coronation of George VI    with the  fancy dress pageant.

 

 

 Gathering for a Bus Trip to Carlisle in 1947

Finally two more happy pictures - here Earlston's Girls' Club in their production of  "Simple Simon" , staged with orchestra in February 1939 in the Corn Exchange, Earlston,   The large chorus took the part of villagers, sailors and native girls.    A  local newspaper noted that "all the players acquitted themselves in a very creditable manner, fully deserving the warm appreciation of the audience."

 

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Contributed by Susan Donaldson, Auld Earlston 

A Village at War: Earlston 1914-1918: A Review

It is nearly 100 years since Earlston War Memorial was unveiled in November 1921.  To mark this occasion, Auld Earlston member Jeff Price has published his book “A Village at War:  Earlston  1914-1918”. - a description of the village in the war years and its aftermath,  interwoven with detailed accounts of the fate that befell the many Earlston  men who fought.

 

The emphasis in the book is very much on the human stories of courage,  tragedy, and pathos for both the men and their families back home -  it  is not just a listing of battles and casualties .  Many of the names will be familiar to local residents today. 

Jeff takes us in turn through the four years of war, looking at the economic background, notably in relation to mill workers, and the farming community;  the post war discussions on the form of a village memorial, and the impact of the war on social change.   Contemporary  newspapers are a key source of material for the accounts.   The book concludes with a Roll of Honour of the men remembered not only in Earlston but in cemeteries and on memorials abroad. 

 

Unveiling of the War Memorial in November 1921.  

Photograph from the Auld Earlston Collection

This readable account is a must for anyone interested in the history of the village  and the impact of the war on one small community - a valuable addition to the publications available on Earlston.

Available  from Amazon in both  Kindle and Flexicover format.

Earlston War Memorial, November 2018  

Photograph:  Neil Donaldson, Earlston

 

Contributed by Susan Donaldson of the Auld Earlsotn Group 

 

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