Gala Committee 2

Gala Committee 2

The use of a theme continued for all the years that the village society ran the gala. 1974 was the year of the Wild West on September 7th. This proved a really easy and popular one for dressing up, with cowboys and girls, squaws and saloon girls. Wild West enthusiast Frank Withers, in authentic dress, rode at the head of the procession. A children’s mounted fancy dress class was included and judged by Jack White, the Airedale Beagles’ huntsman. The playgroup float gave the children a selection of musical instruments and enclosed them in playpens as Jailhouse Rock, but the winners were the WI, giving a glimpse of their secret side in the Wicked Lady Saloon. All the children in the fancy dress competitions were given Milky Bars by the Milky Bar Kid. Revd Graham Bettridge, vicar of Harden and Wilsden, and Mrs. Bettridge gave out the prizes and declared the gala open and Rayne Patrick was crowned by the retiring queen. The committee had been inspired by the theme to develop some appropriate games, such as horseshoe pitching, guess the weight of a bag of ‘gold dust’, a trading post, donkey rides labelled as prospectors’ mules and a jail game which involved wet sponges. Unfortunately, unlike the first three, this was a really wet day and most of the attractions had to be packed into the school and some games simply abandoned. With bands and entertainers to be paid, a wet day is a gala organiser’s nightmare and there was much relief when this one still made a profit of £42. To this could be added £77 from the dance held at St. Ives.

In 1975 thankfully the sun shone on the Treasure Island gala and the only people soaked were those who took part in the Motor Club’s Walk the Plank game. Bowling for Old Jamaica ran into no trouble awarding a bottle of rum rather than a whole island. The day was opened by Mr. Robert Applegate, assistant chief fire officer for West Yorkshire. He used to live in Wilsden and recalled thinking how privileged he was to live in such a beautiful environment. He said how pleasant it was to be the guest of an organisation whose members were voicing their opinions in the relevant places. It was right and proper that people should have a say in the development of their home area. The society had provided a channel through which ideas and complaints could be delivered, and on the social side was helping to bind together the village in its day to day activities, Village life was precious and contained much of what was best in England. Elizabeth Hemsley was crowned as queen. 

September 11th 1976 was another wet one, perhaps fairly appropriate for the Highland Gala. There were kilts and white knees to be seen, a Loch Ness monster, bowling for scotch and a variation on the usual treasure hunt- ‘search for north sea oil’. The City of Leeds pipe band led the drenched but undaunted procession. 600 people packed into the school where they were entertained by a display of Scottish dancing and a very popular conjurer who sawed the headmaster in half. Christine Barwick was gala queen. A new item was presentation of prizes in the Wilsden in Bloom competition for the best garden, won by Mrs. D.Rouse of Hornsea Drive. In spite of the weather, one of the pipers said it was the best do they had been to!
That was the last gala to be held on the school field. The Society’s major event of 1976 was the opening of Wilsden Village Hall, to be described in the appropriate chapter.
It now seemed logical to transfer the gala to the land alongside the hall, with the hall itself available for teas and in case of another wet day.

The society organised the Mild and Bitter competition in which the village pubs competed at darts, dominoes and quiz, and the final of this competition between the New Inn and Ling Bob opened the Jubilee activities on Tuesday June 21st. The New Inn won and received a trophy specially made by WVS member Chris Moore. This competition continued for several more years. (It also led to Roy Clemence, landlord of the New Inn, persuading some WVS members to form a team to play in the Airedale quiz league. More than forty years later the New Thinnkers team, still with three of its original members, was still playing.) Next day Wilsden Scouts provided fun for youngsters with an aerial ride outside the hall. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday the newly formed drama group, the Townfield Players, put on their first, and highly successful, production ‘Man Alive’. On Saturday too, people were urged to cheer on the Wilsden float at Harden Gala. On Sunday there were special services at the United Reformed Church to mark their anniversary and in the evening the Youth Club (now in its new premises as part of the village hall) organised indoor games for all. Monday had a well filled evening. In the hall the Bluebird School of Dancing performed ‘Land of Nod’, a fairy play for children, full of songs and dance. Meanwhile a cricket match was taking place between the Gala Chairman Eric Stow’s XI and the Vicar’s XI, narrowly won by the Vicar’s men, proving the impartiality of umpires Dr. Roger Selby and Clifford Stow, Eric’s father. WVS ladies provided refreshments. Very traditional English entertainment was provided by the Spen Valley Longsword Dancers who performed during the course of the evening outside the Station Hotel, Ling Bob, New Inn and Brewers’ Arms.
On Tuesday June 28th St. Matthew’s Church provided the interest. Revd Graham Bettridge welcomed people to an open day at which old documents were on display. These included photographs of the original church in Lane Side, letters and registers in which visitors could search for ancestors. In the evening Bingley Musical Union, accompanied by well known Wilsden pianist Ernest Mitchell, gave a Silver Jubilee Musical Evening in the church.
Wednesday saw the library service bring their Storytime Roadshow for children to the village hall. In the evening there was an Old Time Music Hall and pie and pea supper, organised by the School Association. On Thursday, cinema returned to Wilsden for the first time for decades when the Girls’ Gymnastic Club put on a film show in the hall, showing ‘Life of the Queen’, ‘Pageantry of Britain’ and some cartoons. Friday was the Youth Club’s turn again with more indoor games and five-a-side football.
Saturday, gala day. WVS had sent a message of loyal greetings and congratulations to the Queen and Eric Stow read out a message of thanks and warm wishes for Wilsden’s celebrations.

Gala queen Christine Woodward was crowned by her predecessor in the presence of four more recent gala queens, Paula Smith (now Mrs Payne), Margaret Walton, Rayne Patrick and Elizabeth Hemsley. Also present was Mrs Irene Bastow from Walton, near Wakefield, who had been Wilsden gala queen at the coronation gala in 1953. There were school and Sunday school queens in the procession, the royal theme inspired fancy dress and floats and most helpers sported Union Jack waistcoats, socks or hats. The lucky programme prize was a jubilee tankard and jubilee rock was on sale.

Bunting had been a feature of all the galas, home-made and confined to the school field at first but this year the Society obtained from Bradford council strings of red white and blue, not only for the field but all over Main Street. There were unforeseen problems with this sagging in use to a level at which it would be caught up by double-decker buses – just one of the nightmares to haunt the gala chairman. No one had thought to mention that the council workmen thread wire through when it is to be used across the streets. Weeks of preparation, coordination of all the activities, and being present at almost every event during the twelve days was quite exhausting for members of the gala committee, many of whom were at work during the day, but the result was a highly successful celebration on a scale that has not been seen locally since. Profit from the gala went towards new equipment for the children’s playground. This included a climbing frame in the shape of the royal cipher EIIR. 

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