This was the crowded scene in Old Main Street, at Bingley, in June of 1905, when Major General Sir H M Leslie Rundle came to unveil Boer War memorials in Bingley Town Hall and Parish Church.
Local members of the Volunteer Battalion of the Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment have formed a guard of honour. At the extreme left, General Rundle, in plumed hat, is about to enter the Parish Church. A shop window on the right is advertising Keighley-made Bottomley’s mint rock.
General Rundle, who had commanded a division in the South African War and subsequently the North-East Regimental District at home, had also visited Keighley in June, 1904, when he had unveiled a Boer War tablet in the Parish Church. “Dense crowds” had cheered him “lustily” on Station Bridge.
It happened to be the Keighley Friendly Societies’ Gala Day so he had also been invited to open a new bowling green in Victoria Park, where he gamely “tried his skill with the wood”. The Keighley Herald diplomatically thought he made “an exceedingly good shot”!
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here