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menofworth.bsky.social
Men of Worth Project
@menofworth.bsky.social
850 followers 780 following 1.1K posts
Andy Wade, Historian. Author.
We research Keighley & Worth Valley people who served in wartime. We remember their service and try to ensure they’re not forgotten. Est. 2001, QAVS 2021.
www.menofworth.org.uk
Alt text: Embroidered badge, says ‘MEN OF WORTH'
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menofworth.bsky.social
Some details of the #Bradford Wool Exchange. A grade one listed building which is the setting for #Waterstones Bookshop. I wonder how many people look up at the beautiful ceiling?
A beautiful arched timber framed ceiling inside the Bradford Wool Exchange building. There is a six pointed star window at the end and at the bottom of the image, rows of bookshelves. A section of tiled wall with a double diamond pattern in green tiles. The centre of each diamond is filled with colourful tiles forming a flower design.
November 20, 2025 at 10:52 PM
menofworth.bsky.social
Currently working on the story of Lance Corporal Albert Mewburn Bradshaw, who died being transported in the Japanese Hell ship ‘Ho Kuru Maru’ which was sunk by torpedo bombers in 1944. A story of needless cruelty.

RIP.

See if you can find his name on Keighley’s Second World War memorial panel…
Newspaper cutting featuring Lance Corporal Albert Mewburn Bradshaw who died on a Japanese hell ship in 1944. It includes his portrait photo in uniform. A bronze war memorial panel on the fallen from Keighley in the Second World War. There are six columns and 275 names. It is on the wall at Keighley Library.
November 11, 2025 at 10:28 AM
menofworth.bsky.social
From an episode of Dr Who (the one with Shakespeare and the witches at the Globe Theatre)

"The power of a name. That's Old Magic..."
David Tennant as Dr Who: 'The power of a name. That's Old Magic...'
November 9, 2025 at 6:01 PM
menofworth.bsky.social
I looked twice at that...
A Manta Ray in silhouette, viewed looking up to the surface. It is black and encircled by the blue water.
November 8, 2025 at 10:03 PM
menofworth.bsky.social
Here’s a few of our #Oakworth #Remembrance Trail information boards about local men who died in the First and Second World Wars, placed near to their former homes during the Remembrance period. They will be up until the end of November.

More here: www.menofworth.org.uk/trail

#FWW #SWW #WW1 #WW2
An A3 size plastic board fixed to a lamp post. It is part of our Oakworth Remembrance Trail which has placed 96 boards near to the former homes of men who were killed in the First and Second World Wars. They will be up for the whole of November 2025. This is at Elmwood Terrace. An A3 size plastic board fixed to a lamp post. It is part of our Oakworth Remembrance Trail which has placed 96 boards near to the former homes of men who were killed in the First and Second World Wars. They will be up for the whole of November 2025. This is at Commercial Street. An A3 size plastic board fixed to a lamp post. It is part of our Oakworth Remembrance Trail which has placed 96 boards near to the former homes of men who were killed in the First and Second World Wars. They will be up for the whole of November 2025. This is at Oakworth Hall. An A3 size plastic board fixed to a lamp post. It is part of our Oakworth Remembrance Trail which has placed 96 boards near to the former homes of men who were killed in the First and Second World Wars. They will be up for the whole of November 2025. This is at Oakworth Hall.
November 4, 2025 at 8:37 AM
menofworth.bsky.social
Yesterday we launched our #Oakworth #Remembrance #Trail. We installed 96 boards on lamp-posts around our village, next to, or close to the homes of the Oakworth men who died in the first and second world wars. A QR Code guides visitors to their biographies on our website:
www.menofworth.org.uk/trail
Seven out of the eight adult volunteers who came out to install the 96 Oakworth Remembrance Trail Boards on Thursday 30th October 2025. Each volunteer is holding a white A3 sized correx board printed with details of a serviceman who died in either the First or the Second World Wars, which will go on to lamp-posts near their homes from before they enlisted. Behind this group is a large laurel hedge and a drystone wall. A man is standing in front of a stage in a village hall and he is holding a clipboard. He is talking to a large group of people seated on several rows of chairs, many of whom are Army Cadets and Sea Cadets in uniform. Nobody has fallen asleep, yet...
October 31, 2025 at 8:54 PM
menofworth.bsky.social
It's a terrific exhibit! Loads of interpretation boards and a video on loop inside. It's well worth a visit!
An interpretation panel for HMS M.33, showing a cutaway view of the insides of the ship. HMS M.33. A small ship in dry dock, with black and white dazzle camouflage from the WW1 era. This photo is taken looking at the starboard bow, with the whole ship in view.
October 23, 2025 at 11:00 PM
menofworth.bsky.social
Wonderful.
My phone wallpaper is the Giotto di Bondone - Starry Sky, 1305, it’s at the Scrovegni Chapel, Padua.

I find it rather comforting.
An azure blue ceiling with a regular pattern of golden, eight pointed stars.
October 10, 2025 at 6:09 PM
menofworth.bsky.social
Lovely. I wish I had the patience to make one...
This is a lovely sea creature from floor of the Musée Océanographique at Monaco. Instantly fell in love with it.
musee.oceano.org/en/
A large mosaic crab on the floor of the Oceanographic Museum at Monaco. It's about a metre across and is a brick red colour, on a white background superimposed by a fishing net pattern.
September 30, 2025 at 5:47 PM
menofworth.bsky.social
Looking into a local soldier who cut his own throat (off duty) He survived and was SNLR'd in 1908 (served 8 years.)
He spent a month at Wakefield Asylum and was discharged as 'not insane.'
Normally he would be in the Reserve for 5 years, but I am wondering if the circumstances and SNLR negated that?
A cropped image from an Army Service record from 1908 which states: Incised wound, throat. 26 Jan 1908. (not on duty) Cropped image from a 1908 Lunacy Patients Admission Register, which states that a man was 'not insane.'
September 27, 2025 at 7:04 AM
menofworth.bsky.social
Jürgen Prochnow as the captain in Das Boot.
September 25, 2025 at 1:38 PM
menofworth.bsky.social
Took a small box of shiny things for them all to handle… Nobody guessed the button stick!
Several WW2 era items such as uniform badges and buttons plus an air raid warden’s lamp for children at a school to look at.
September 23, 2025 at 8:28 PM
menofworth.bsky.social
For #Keighley #WalkingFestival today I’m taking a group to the #Oakworth crash site of Wellington BK387 where 6 Canadian airmen died 2/1/1944.
I’ll be sharing witness accounts and showing the twisted trees in Tewitt Hall Wood. #WW2 #SWW

https://menofworth.org.uk/memorials/canadianmemorialoakworth/
A coloured drawing of a Vickers Wellington Bomber mark 3 it’s cutaways showing some of the inside areas. A coloured map of England showing the route taken by a Wellington Bomber on the evening of its fatal crash in Yorkshire. Six Canadian crew member’s photographs of Wellington Bomber BK387. They are all in their Royal Canadian Air Force uniforms and their names are Glass, McHenry, Henfrey, Dalling, Crawford and Savage.
September 14, 2025 at 6:02 AM
menofworth.bsky.social
Finally got around to looking at the first bag of books:
Nine books about war by different writers.
September 7, 2025 at 2:49 PM
menofworth.bsky.social
This is perhaps my favourite photo from the Men of Worth archives!
Norman Walbank of Oakworth served with the #SeaforthHighlanders and even named one of his sons after his regiment. Doesn't he look splendid in his #kilt and glengarry?

Read his #FWW #WW1 story here: menofworth.org.uk/norman-walba...
A black and white studio photograph from the First World War period, of a man wearing a Scottish soldiers uniform and kilt, with a glengarry cap. He is Private Norman Walbank of the Seaforth Highlanders.
September 4, 2025 at 7:32 AM
menofworth.bsky.social
The Long Arm of Coincidence!

William Roe of #Oakworth & George Roe of Heckmondwike. A strange coincidence, 2 unrelated men, joined up/served/promoted together, killed in action in the same shell explosion. #FWW #WW1
Read their stories:

menofworth.org.uk/william-roe/

menofworth.org.uk/george-roe/
A newspaper cutting about William and George Roe: Keighley News report: OAKWORTH. “THE LONG ARM OF COINCIDENCE.” The “Long arm of coincidence” has seldom stretched further during the war than in the case of two soldiers names Roe – one, Will Roe, of Bogthorn, Oakworth; the other, George Roe, of White Lea, Heckmondwike. They had no traceable relationship, both were 20 years of age, both worked for a cooperative society; joined the colours on the same day, were drafted to the same regiment, became chums, received their lance-corporal stripe on the same day, were buried by the same shell on one occasion, and met their death at the same moment by another shell last month. A 1917 newspaper picture of a British soldier in uniform, he is wearing a service cap with the badge of the West Yorkshire Regiment. A 1917 newspaper picture of a British soldier in uniform, he is wearing a service cap with the badge of the West Yorkshire Regiment.
September 2, 2025 at 1:20 PM
menofworth.bsky.social
Really moved by the desperation of a family searching for their son. Pte. Pickles went missing, disappeared into the mud.
They wrote to the Red Cross to see if he was a prisoner of war. Sadly it was a no, but they held on to hope, engraving it on their family grave:

menofworth.org.uk/harry-pickles/
A dark granite stepped gravestone base with an inscription which reads: Also of Pte. Harry Pickles, Beloved son of W & Z Pickles. Died a prisoner of war 1918, Aged 40 years.
August 31, 2025 at 6:19 PM
menofworth.bsky.social
Just added the story to our blog, of Private Fred Coates:
menofworth.org.uk/fred-coates/
Born in #Oakworth and lived in #Cross-Roads / Lees, Fred was a gardener and had worked for the Lord Mayor of Leeds before the war.
He died of wounds in Sept 1917 and left a widow and two children. #FWW #WW1
A newspaper photograph of a man wearing Army uniform and the badge of the Duke of Wellington's West Riding Regiment on his cap. He had a wide waxed moustache. A dark wood frame enclosing a polished white marble plaque which has 13 names in black lettering. It reads: In Memory of the men connected with this church who made the supreme sacrifice in the Great War. 1914 - 1918. Ellis Bailey Horatio Claughton Frank Clayton Fred Coates Betie Colledge George H. Earnshaw Arthur Hutchinson Harry Jowett Harry Mitchell Luther J. Murgatroyd Sam Schofield Walter Wagstaff George G. F. Wane "Greater love hath no man than this."
August 17, 2025 at 7:56 PM
menofworth.bsky.social
Just added the story of Seaman George Sanderson from #Oakworth, who was killed in #WW2 during the sinking of #HMSDaring on 18th February 1940. We have included a transcribed letter George wrote home in 1939:
menofworth.org.uk/george-sande...

#SecondWorldWar #SWW
A Royal Navy seaman in uniform standing on a hill overlooking fields and boundary walls. A cat is standing at his feet.
August 16, 2025 at 10:13 PM
menofworth.bsky.social
Yes. We all wore drysuits. We had a fortnight at Scapa Flow in 1990 and dived all of the German wrecks plus a few others whilst we were there. In a word: Spectacular.
Page from a dive log with a sketch showing the route taken on the wreck.
August 16, 2025 at 10:06 PM
menofworth.bsky.social
Back in the day I used to tinker about with wood #marquetry.
I made this Bengal #Tiger for my #Mum's birthday, probably about 40 years ago.
After she died in 2021, it came back to me and I have it on our wall to remind me of how much she liked it.

Now I can't believe I had the patience to do it...
A poster for W.W. Wilkes great continental circus, dated 26th June 1956. It has a stylised cartoon like image of a tiger's head, looking towards the right and snarling. A marquetry picture of a tiger's head, looking towards the right and snarling. It is made from thin veneers of wood in different colours. I made it for my Mum's birthday. She was called May Wade and she died in 2021.
August 16, 2025 at 1:53 PM
menofworth.bsky.social
I am on a Firefox browser and I just set my default search engine to Googleweb instead of Google.
Right click the search box and select 'Googleweb' from the drop down list and then set it as your default search. There are other ways for different browsers and devices but I didn't look into them.
A screen grab showing 'Googleweb' as an option for the default search engione.
August 16, 2025 at 1:04 PM
menofworth.bsky.social
Double post on our blog today:

Private Arthur Dinsdale menofworth.org.uk/arthur-dinsd...

Private William Wardman menofworth.org.uk/william-fred...

They were killed by a shell which struck the stables they were working in. It also wounded three other men and two horses which had to be put down.
A poor quality newspaper photograph of a soldier in uniform. This is a head and shoulders portrait and he has a bandolier of leather ammunition pouches across his chest. The caption reads: Pte. A. Dinsdale of Keighley (killed). A newspaper photograph of a man's head and shoulders. He is wearing a soldiers uniform with a service cap and badge of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment.
August 16, 2025 at 12:49 PM
menofworth.bsky.social
We posted about one of our local men this very morning, who died in the Fall of Singapore.
Also met a man holding his Grandfather's photograph at our #VJDay80 ceremony in #Keighley. Looking forward to finding out more about Melville Watson, once we've had a chance to talk with his Grandson properly.
Melville Hodson Watson, who died in Burma in WW2. This is hand coloured photograph of a soldier in army uniform wearing a forage cap.
August 15, 2025 at 10:43 PM
menofworth.bsky.social
On #VJDay80 we share the story of Petty Officer Mechanician Robert Silcock of Oakworth, who was killed when a Japanese cruiser shelled HM Tug Yin Ping, in which he was trying to escape the Fall of Singapore on 5th Feb 1942.
menofworth.org.uk/robert-silco...
He is remembered here in #Oakworth.
A black and white photograph of a Royal Navy stoker wearing his tropical dress uniform which is white with navy blue trimmings. On his arm is a badge of a Leading Stoker which is a three bladed propellor with a single star above it. A grey slate stone mounted on top of a low wall surrounding a garden. It bears the name ROBERT SILCOCK in black lettering.
August 15, 2025 at 9:47 AM