These young men of a Silsden Parish Church tug-of-war team pose proudly with their rope and a cup they have won a century or so ago.
They are probably members of a Physical Culture Class formed late in 1910 in conjunction with the Young Men’s Society at St James’s Church, enrolling 50 at its outset.
Their honorary instructor was Ezra Bailey. They entertained churchgoers with annual demonstrations of exercises, which included Indian club drill and pyramids.
“Every part of the display brought forth much applause,” commented the Silsden Parish Magazine in 1912, “especially when the pyramids were formed, and the exhibition was altogether a surprise as to what work the young men do.”
Less strenuous activities included a lecture on ‘Mountaineering in Switzerland’, by Alfred Holmes, a Keighley climber, photographer and member of the Alpine Club.
The photograph has been supplied by Cathy Liddle, of Elm Grove in Silsden.
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