PerthshireCrieffStrathearn Local History

Mayall Family Story

October 2022

Introduction

I have been digging and delving into my family roots for some considerable time . My dear wife Liz passed away on the 4 April 2020 leaving a dreadful void in my life . One blessing has been the closeness of our family – God bless them all . I gave son Nic a copy of my Sharp Family History and he enjoyed it so much asked if I would do a similar one for our Mayall side of the family . Well- here goes !

The name is clouded in mists from the past but I have here utilised the opinions of previous researchers as published on the net – the truth behind these facts cannot be guaranteed ! It came from France “ in the wake of the Norman Conquest of 1066 “ . One theory is that it is derived from the Middle English personal name of “ Mihel “a vernacular form of Michael meaning “ who is the Lord ?” Variants of Mayall that have turned up over the generations include Mayell, Mayhall, Miall and Myall in my research the variant occurred with my three times great grand father who was generally referred to as Edward Meal !

The earliest recording of the name occurs in Norfolk although it appeared in the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk in 1524 as John Mihell . An interesting observation is that “ the family has a long history in Oldham Lancashire . “ This is comparatively close to where our own Mayalls were domiciled in the West Riding of Yorkshire and in particular Marsden in Almondbury south and west of Huddersfield . Areas of Mayall emigration Include in particular Australia and USA . As will be revealed later in this tale my grandfather , Lewis Mayall’s brother Jack ( John Edward ) moved with family to Australia and is buried in Cumberland New South Wales as are his family .

In family history it is the general procedure to start with say yourself and work back in time . For this saga I will start with the furthest back ancestor ( as at July 2020) and work my way to the present age !

Generation One

Labourer and wadman – Edward Meal

My comparatively recent research turned up an interesting revelation pertaining to my 3 x great grandfather Edward Mayall . Early documentation{Baptismal Cert /opposite } told us he lived in Marsden a town to the west of Huddersfield in the district known as Almondbury . His wife as shown on the baptismal record of son David was referred to as “ Mary “ with no maiden name or indeed surname stated .Edward’s occupation was given as “ wadman “ or wood man . This was in 1815 . This blank in my genealogical trail was not sorted out until the last few months .

The baptismal record obtained from the archives service of West Yorkshire gives Edward’s surname “Mayale” Later my research turned up the name spelt “ meal”. The Parish of /Almondbury has /numerous possible ancestors with the surname “ Meal “ ! Lingards Wood was the birth place of Edward (also recorded as "Lingarths") is a former township and formed part of the chapelry of Slaithwaite in the Parish of Almondbury. It mostly comprised moorland and included Deer Hill Reservoir. ( see pics below )

Mayall Family Story

October 2022

Introduction

Generation One

Labourer and wadman – Edward Meal

Lingards Wood

Edward Mayall or Meal was born there in 1791. At the time of writing , his baptismal certificate could not be traced and his parents are not known . What was interesting was locating his entry in the 1851 National Census . The Census started in detail in 1841 for the whole of the UK . Prior to then census information was statistical and did not give details on individual households . 1841 was limited in detail . Town or village of birth was not given merely the county of birth Relationships were not stated nor was the actual age of the individual . Ages were rounded up or down ! Ten years later things had changed This was the first detailed Census . This is the transcription copied from the original . Kitchen was the village adjoining Slaithwaite .Somewhat appropriate the Meals were in Kitchen !

Census for 1851

Slaithwaite Almondbury West Riding Yorkshire

Entry no 16

Kitchen

Edward Meal head married age 60 ( born 1791 ) labourer born Lingards Yorkshire

Mary Ann Meal wife married age 57 ( born 1794 ) born Halifax

John Tomkins ( visitor )plate layer

Edward Meal grandson ** unmarried age unknown ( was in fact 7 born in 1844 ) born Bradford

Martin Barlow ( visitor )plate layer

John Kelfit ( visitor ) plate layer !

William Sykes ( lodger )

I assume that the plate layers recorded in the household were working on the railway being constructed at this time . Slaithwaite Railway Station opened in 1849 so this seems to tie in historically. What the census tells us is that Edward “Meal” had his grandson was staying with him . He had been born in Bradford and his age is stated as “ unknown “. He was in fact my great grandfather and was seven year old. His father David was a dyer working in the in the woollen mills in Keighley a busy town to the north

and close to Bradford. Name confusion abounds! He and his family were down as May not Meal or Mayall! David Mayall/ May / Meal appears to have been the only child of Edward and Mary Ann and was born in Marsden in February 1815.

Edward Meal died in Huddersfield in January 1857 His wife Mary Ann died three years later in January 1860 and was buried in the Church yard of St Bartholomew’s, the Parish Church of Marsden , on the 29^th January 1860 . She was 67 years old.

A number of years ago ,when we were staying near Skipton with brother in law Nigel, I enjoyed visiting the various places where our Mayall family had lived . Marsden was indeed one and I recall how surprised I was to see numerous sheep grazing amidst the grave stones . Little did I know Mayalls had been baptised and buried in this hallowed spot !

St Bartholomew’s Marsden West Yorkshire

Marsden

Generation Two

David Mayall or Meal or May ( 1815- 1861 )

David was born in Marsden in 1815 , he must have realised that with the growth of the woollen industry in and around the Colne Valley , his future would in all probability lie in one of the many large mills that were sprouting up all around the area . This fact sheet paints the picture of why woollen mills became the life blood of this part of the West Riding of Yorkshire :

The West Yorkshire Archaeological Advisory Service have compiled a fact sheet on early Huddersfield

The textile industries

Due to the poverty of the hilly land, local people found it difficult to produce sufficient food to support the growing population, and from early days the conversion of wool to cloth supplemented their incomes. This was helped by a plentiful supply of wool and fast-running streams of soft water necessary for cloth production.

For centuries the industry was based in people’s homes or in small mills on upland streams. During the industrial revolution of the late 18th and 19th centuries, the industry increasingly moved to larger mills in the valley bottoms – especially the Colne Valley. Alongside the growth of textiles – which included cotton and linen as well as the dominant woollen industry – strong engineering and chemical industries developed to provide the necessary machinery and dyestuffs.

David became a dyer and found work in Keighley near Bradford . I am not sure in which actual Mill he worked in but it could well have been the Dalton Mill .

The historic Dalton Mills in Keighley was once the largest textile mill in Yorkshire, employing over 2000 workers. It was built by Joseph Craven in 1869, replacing the original mill from the 1780’s. In its heyday between 1869 and 1877 the mill provided jobs for workers all over Keighley and Worth Valley.

What transpired from my early search was that David appears as David May and not Meal or Mayall in the early records traced ( the 1851 Census and his marriage certificate ) Why is not clear and may have to do with accent but that is conjecture .

On the 30^th October 1843 David married Mary Greenwood in Keighley Parish Church . The marriage certificate is not as informative as one might have hoped . Formal registration in England and Wales had only started in 1837 ( in Scotland we had to wait until 1855 before it happened here ) Ages were not given it merely said “ of age “ . It confirmed that neither had been married before and that David was a dyer ( Rank or Profession ) . Both were living in Sun Street Keighley but no numbers given so we do not know if they were living together or not ! David’s father is given as Edward May – occupation “ dyer “ . Inconsistency prevails! Age is not given it merely states “of age “. The other deduction is that David could read and write whilst his spouse Mary Greenwood and both witnesses could not . It shows a cross and the remark “his/her mark “beside their entries.

What then of his spouse Mary? All we actually deduce from the marriage certificate is that her father was called Daniel Greenwood and he was a “ comber “- yet another occupation with in the woollen industry of the time ! Prior to 1837 in England and Wales there were no “ statutory certificates “ – official documents for birth marriage and death issued through a Government Department . Indeed the National Census – a detailed head count listing details of all the household occupants was not introduced to the four nations ( England Scotland Ireland and Wales ) until 1841 . When I am in doubt about the authenticity of and individual that I may be researching . I would often check on sites such as Ancestry to look at

Family Trees that have been lodged for Public examination .A number of the submissions for Mary Greenwood and Edward Mayall are wrong in detail according to my research .

In the 1861 Census Edward Mayall is head of the family and is found living at Walker’s Square in Rastrick West Riding of Yorkshire .We know it to be the right person as he was born in Marsden although his age is stated as 42 showing him to have been born in 1819 not 1815 . Mary his wife had been born in Wadsworth and her age is stated as 34 giving her a birth date of 1827.

I visited Wadsworth and the adjoining village of Heptonstall when in Yorkshire some 10 years or so ago ( c 2010 ) It is a most attractive small place lying within the civil borough of Calderdale . A visit the old burial ground beside the Heponstall Parish church revealed that the Greenwood name abounds ! The village is on the route of the Calderdale Way, a 50-mile (80 km) circular walk around the hills and valleys of Calderdale. Whilst the Yorkshire of my ancestors seems to be one of smoking stacks and woollen mills , places like Heptonstall retain a rural tranquillity . Situated right on the boundary between Lancashire and Yorkshire it featured unsurprisingly in the English Civil Wars . Heptonstall was the site of a battle during the early part of the English Civil War in 1643.

Historically a centre for hand-loom weaving, Heptonstall's cottages and terraced houses are characterised by large first-floor windows to maximise the light for weaving.

The older churchyard claims "King" David Hartley amongst notable graves there.Hartley was founder of the Cragg Coiners and lived as a rogue in the Calderdale area until he was hanged at Tyburn near York in 1770.

The foundation stone of its octagonal Methodist chapel, the oldest still in continued use,was laid following the visit of John Wesley in 1764.

Heptonstall's original church was dedicated to St Thomas a Becket. It was founded c.1260, and was altered and added to over several centuries. The church was damaged by a gale in 1847, and is now only a shell. A new church, St Thomas the Apostle, was built in the same churchyard. This suffered a lightning strike in 1875

Mary Greenwood was the great great grand mother of Colin Mayall and the 3 x great gran of Nic Elise and Jasmine .

The village lies some 12 miles from Keighley but light years away in reality .Mary in all probability found employment there and in doing so met her husband to be David.As noted above they married in 1843. It would appear that although working in Keighley they lived close by in Greater Horton – now a suburb of Bradford. The marriage saw the arrival of seven children :

1. Edward Mayall in 1844 ( Bradford)-the direct line and great grandfather of Colin Mayall

2. John Mayall in 1847 ( Bradford )

3. Mary Ann Alice Mayall in 1849 ( Bradford )

4. Samuel ( Sam ) Mayall in 1852 (Keighley )

5. Greenwood Mayall in 1853 ( Keighley )

6. Martha Mayall in 1857 ( Keighley )

7. James William Mayall in 1863 ( Halifax but probably Rastrick which lies with the Halifax Borough bounds )

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You will recall that I mentioned earlier in this chronicle that in the 1851 Census we found Edward staying in with his grandfather Edward Meal in Slaithwaite . Things were obviously tough in supporting the growing family . Nic and I investigated a note that James above was a professional cricketer . Nic brilliantly unearthed some newspaper cuttings via the Internet and show him as a pro player and groundsman Played for Leigh CC and seemed to have been more than a modest player . This club employed 3 pro/groundsmen at the time .Let us not digress somewhat and look at Mary’s father Daniel and his Irish wife Mary Abbot.

Heptonstall Yorkshire

The Irish Connection

The Abbotts

In compiling this story of our Yorkshire family it came as something of a surprise to find out that we had , unbeknown , to one and all some Irish ancestry . Mary Abbott was born circa 1810 in Ireland . Wherebouts we did not know. The name “ Abbott “ was according to historical records likely to have arrived in the Emerald Isle around the mid 17^th century. Examination of the 1821 Census of Ireland revealed the probable family living in Seirkeran County Offally in the Province of Leinster .

Details are somewhat limited but the following are listed :

Benjeman ( sic) Abbott age 36

Jane Abbott ( no maiden name given ) age 40

Mary Ann Abbott daughter age 13

Elizabeth Abbott daughter age 10

John Abbott son age 7

Phiby Abbott daughter age 4

Sarah Abbott daughter age 1

Samuel Abbott ( brother of Benjeman ) age 37

Thomas Macklin head age 20

No further details are available but one wonders why Mary Ann Abbott found her way across the seas to the comparatively remote part of Yorkshire .When one has a look at Irish history the reasoning she left for another life becomes clear. In 1921 on the 3rd of May, Northern Ireland was established. On the 6^th December, the Irish War of Independence flaired up . The War of Independence ends when negotiations between the British government and representatives of the de facto Irish Republic conclude with the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the creation of the Irish Free State on the 28^th June1922.

Mary met Daniel Greenwood, a wool comber , and they were married in Bradford and lived there raising four offspring – Mary , Joseph , William and Daniel . Mary died comparatively young in 1866 in Bradford aged 58 .

The Irish Connection (two)

Seir Kieran

The name Seir Kieran derives from Saighir Chiaráin, meaning ‘the fountain of Ciarán’. The ancient church at Seir Kieran is associated with St Ciarán the elder, who is supposed to have spent 30 years in Rome studying the scriptures. In ancient times the church was a burial place of the kings of the ancient kingdom of Ossory.

Today pilgrims continue to carry out stations at St Kieran’s Well and St. Kieran’s Bush & Stone on his feastday (March 5th). Within the graveyard is the base of a 9th century high cross which features carvings of biblical scenes, such as ‘Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden’.

Sometime before 1170 Seirkieran became a house of Augustinian canons and shortly after this date the priory church of St. Ciarán was built. The walls of this church form the northern boundary of the graveyard. The foundations of an earlier round tower can be seen on the external northwest angle of the priory ruins. The priory was dissolved in 1552 and sometime later the church was fortified when a small circular gun-tower was added on to the southeast angle. In 1844 the Church of Ireland built the present church, in which are housed a stone cross and some early cross slabs that were found in the graveyard.

Generation Three

Edward Mayall and Sarah Chadwick

The Rastrick Mayalls

We have followed the family from their Marsden and Slaithwaite days through to my grand father in Rastrick . Rastrick is a place I first recall hearing a bout when the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band used to play regularly on the radio / wireless in the pre TV era ! Edward my great grandfather followed tradition by entering the woollen mill and working as a slubber – someone who feeds the wool into the spinning machine .

Edward the oldest sibling in the family of David and Mary was only 16 years old when his father died in 1861 in Rastrick aged 46 leaving Mary his widow just 34. The family were living in a property adjoining the cricket ground in Walker Square and the Census gives us some idea of what they were all doing .Both Edward and his younger brother John were in the mill . Their younger siblings – Mary age 12– Sam age 9 – Greenwood age 7 and Martha aged 5 were all at school . As I write this I realise one is not accounted for ! I checked my records and discover that the youngest sibling John William was not born until 1863 - 2 years after his father’s death ! It must have been a real struggle to bring up the family in the years before social benefits were there to help things out .

When the next Census came around in 1871 we discover that the three oldest - Edward ,John and Mary Ann Alice had all married and departed the nest . The census tells us Sam aged 19 was employed as a slubber , Greenwood as a woollen operative ,Martha as a woollen feeder and James William aged 7 still at school .

Life could not have been easy and perhaps it is not surprising that the young widow married local boy Joe Rayner who surprise, surprise was a also working in the mill His occupation is stated as a woollen over looker . The 1881 census tells us that the family had moved to Bradford , Interesting side note is that the late arrival John William went to be a professional cricketer in Lancashire thus avoiding the mill !

At this stage , let us return to Edward Mayall . He had married a Mary Hartley on July1869 at St John the Baptist Church in Halifax .Mary was 21 years old and Edward 25 years old . Sadly she died some 4 years later leaving Edward a widow .The young guy however did not hang around and within a year had remarried .This was to 21 year old Sarah Chadwick a woollen weaver who in all probability worked in the same mil as he did, Sarah was not from Rastrick but from Elland Her father was a “ stone delver “ a sort of quarryman .

The new family settled down in New Road Rastrick just across from where Edward had been brought up in Walker Square and virtually adjacent to the Cricket Ground at Round Hill .

The family grew up – four boys and four girls . Eliza was the oldest . Born in 1876 she married gamekeeper George Denham had 3 children and moved to Devon . Next came Jack or John Edward to be precise who was born in 1878 . He went to work in the mill , soon had enough and enlisted in the Duke of Wellingtons ( West Riding Regiment ) on short term . Left in 1906 to work as an engine fitter , married that year to Edith Rushton in Rastrick .In 1906 was best man in Glasgow to my grand father Lewis . In 1907 he left on his own to go to US ( Philadelphia ) but returned to Rastrick shortly after and his son George Edward was born in 1910 .In the 1911 Census was listed as a steam crane driver in a stone quarry . On his mother’s side , the Chadwicks were quarrymen might well have worked with them in nearby Elland. In 1912 Jack and family emigrated to Sydney New South Wales Australia . He died in 1969 and was buried in Rookwood Cemetery Cumberland New South Wales .His son George died in Sydney in 2002. Lewis, my grand father was next in line born in 1880. The following Chapter is devoted to him so will pass on to Mary Alice born in 1883.She married Wifred Dixon whose occupation was that of a wire drawer, on the 9^th June 1908 in Halifax Parish . There did not appear to be any children in this marriage Next in order was Lillian or Lilly Mayall born in Rastrick in 1880 and married Albert Walker , a stone merchant , in Rastrick in 1905. They had four children , Albert , George, Frank and Lillian May .

Next in line was Leonard . His story was hidden in the mists of time and not sure whether the rest of the family including my own father knew about . Leonard was born in 1888 and at the age of 13 was working as a woollen piecer in the local mill. Some 5 years later aged 18 was working as a labourer in a laundry . Once again military service came to the rescue and Leonard signed on in the 4^th West Yorks ( ie the 4^th Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment ). Shortly after he transferred to the 1^st Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers and in 1911the National census return shows him as a Private in the Regiment in Rawalpindi .

The 1^st Battalion was a regular army Battalion Division stationed in Portsmouth at the outbreak of World War 1 . It was assigned to the 9^th Brigade , 3^rd Infantry Division and remained with it throughout the War . It landed at Le Havre on 14^th August 1914 and remained on the Western Front until the Armistice with Germany .

It fought in the following major battles : Battle of Mons , First Battle of the Aisne , First Battle of Ypres, Battle of the Somme ( 1916 ) , Battle of Arras ( 1917 ) Third Battle of Ypres , First Battle of Somme ( 1918 ) ,Battle of Lys ( 1918 ) ,Second Battle of the Somme ( 1918 ) , Battles of the Hindenburg Line .

Leonard rose to the rank of Lance Corporal and was discharged from service on the 4 August 1917 due to “ sickness” . He obtained the Victory, British and Star Medals . His Service Number was 1970: 77763. Sadly the bulk of Army WW1 Service Records were destroyed in WW2 when their storage warehouse was destroyed by a German bomb !

It would appear that Leonard’s discharge from “ sickness “ was one of mental illness . The nature of his service shows his involvement in numerous battles resulting in a horrendous loss of life and permanent injury . More than 1 million serving personnel lost their life. After discharge , Leonard married in April 1919 to Mary Margaret Beswick . She was 36 years old and he was 30 years old . they married not in Rastrick but in Chorlton Lancashire . In the 1936 Electoral Register Leonard is residing at 18 Slade Lane Elland ( near Rastrick )

Leonard was committed to Storthes Hall Mental Hospital ( later in 1939 to be known as West Riding Mental Hospital ) It was mentioned in a book by Barbara Robb called “ Sans Everything “ . Accusations covered a 32 week period of serious violent assaults with fists or weapons against male patient of all ages – “it was a hell hole “.

No evidence that these occurred whilst Leonard was a patient . He worked in a mill whilst in residence He died in December 1939 and was buried on 20 December 1939 . Blessings on you Leonard.

The seventh sibling was Louisa Mayall born in Rastrick in 1891 .She married John Albert Hall on the 19 June 1915. They had one child Marie Hall born 1917 and died in 1987 . Louisa herself died 1954 at Upper Aggbrigg Yorkshire .Aggbrigg is a suburb of Wakefield .

The youngest of the family was Brook William Mayall born in Rastrick in 1894 . He signed up for a Short Service ( 2 years and 10 years in the Reserve ) as a driver with the Army Service Corps on the 1^st September 1913. When War broke out Brooke signed on as a Private in the Duke of Wellington’s ( West Riding ) Regiment serving as a driver in France and Belgium . He was a warded the 1914-15 Star . I remember my Aunt Margaret ( my father’s sister ) telling me he had served under McIntosh of Toffee fame and had saved him from an accident ( details am afraid lost in time ) Checked out and McIntosh’ s did work out of nearby Halifax so may be something in that ! Brook married a Lillian Happey in Halifax in 1919. They had two children Brian and Bessie . Brook died in 1981 a year after Lillian .

I visited Rastrick armed with some pics given to me by my cousin Alan Buchanan .

Rastrick

Round Hill Rastrick – the Cricket Ground

Mayall Family pictured outside their house at Round Hill Rastrick about 1898/1899

Back Row : John ( Jack ) Mayall B.1878 : Mary Louise Alice Mayall B 1884: Lillian ( Lilly ) Mayall ( B. 1886 Lewis Mayall B. 1880

Middle Row : Sarah (Chadwick ) Mayall B. 1852 Leonard Mayall B. 1889 Edward Mayall B.1845

Front Row : Louisa Mayall B. 1892 Brook W Mayall B . 1875

The Chadwick Connection , Elland and stone quarrying

My great grandmother who appears in that great family pic with her husband Edward and their 8 children was Sarah Chadwick . Sarah was born in Rastrick in 1852 She was one of eight children ( as she was to have with Edward Mayall and coincidently with 4 boys and 4 girls ! ). Her parents were William Chadwick , a stone delver , and Lydia Carter . The family roots were in the little town of Elland some 3 miles south west of Rastrick and many of her male ancestors were stone quarriers or delvers . Sarah’s sister Hannah worked in the mills as did so many of her forebearers . Sarah was registered as Blind and lived with sister Sarah and husband Edward in Rastrick . Sarah worked as one might expect in the mill .

William Chadwick was born on the 6 November 1818 in Elland West Yorkshire. He was my 2 x great grand father and was a stone delver and a stone quarry man. William married Lydia Carter ( my 2 x4 great grand mother }who was born in Elland to George Carter and Hannah Quarmby . George was a spinner by trade.

Disused Quarry Elland West Yorks

My Grandfather Lewis Mayall born Rastrick West Riding of Yorkshire

On the 4^th April 1880 and died in Glasgow on the 12^th November 1941.

Aged 61 years .

The above picture of my grandfather was taken from the group picture in the previous chapter showing all the siblings together in front of their home at Round Hill Rastrick . When was it taken ? Can only be supposition but he signed up for the military in October 1899 prior to leaving for South Africa to participate with the Lancers in the Boer War ,so I think it would have been early 1899 . I never knew my grandfather as he died some 5 months after I was born . Likewise he would not know either of my two cousins. Alan Buchanan son of Nancy Mayall , Lewis’s daughter , was born in January of that year and Ann Moffat ( maiden name Miller) daughter of Margaret Mayall , Lewis’s younger daughter ) was born in February 1941 .

We know from the 1891 census that Lewis was working in the Woollen Mill aged 11 ! Life indeed was not easy in those far off days !

Private Lewis Mayall , 4985 , 17th ( Duke of Cambridge's Own) Lancers

Lewis served in the Boer War having joined the 17th Lancers in 1899 serving in the Boer War in South Africa until 1902 .He was 19 years old and six months when he enlisted

Boer War

The 17th were to miss the big battles of the Boer War. They arrived just in time to see the Boers be technically defeated on the battlefield and yet failing to surrender to the British. The Boers dispersed their mounted commandos throughout the imposing African landscape in what was to become a precursor of twentieth century guerrilla warfare. In this campaign, mounted troops were to become essential in combing the vast distances and empty spaces. The 17th were quickly employed to track down one of the most notorious of the Boer commandos; De Wet. One lancer, Trooper Hayman, was to win the Victoria Cross when he and another trooper were surprised by a dozen Boers. The other trooper's horse was killed sending the rider to the ground with a dislocated shoulder. Hayman, scooped up his comrade on to his own horse and used both men's carbines to shoot his way to freedom. In many ways, this action is indicative of

the entirely new kind of warfare that was facing all of the British regiments in South Africa. The Boerswould hide until they decided to strike and fight on their own terms. The British were continually reactingto the initiative of the Boers. Another less auspicious example of the new style of warfare facing the 17th is provided at the battle of Modderfontein. Here, a small group of Boers were forced to find new mounts, food and ammunition or face certain capture. They came across a small outpost of the 17th Lancers who were resting in the grounds of a farm house. The British mistook the Khaki clad Boers for British until they started a withering fire on the unprepared Lancers. The Boers were then joined by another troop of Commandos who had heard the commotion from afar. These joined in from the rear of the Lancers and helped to inflict serious casualties on the troop of Lancers. In total, 36 Lancers were killed and many more were wounded. The worst aspect of this loss is that they themselves provided the Boers with further mounts and ammunition to continue fighting against the British for an even longer period of time. There was no room for complacency in fighting such a dedicated foe as the Boer. For the rest of the war, the 17th was involved in continuous small scale actions and sweeping operations against the ever elusive commandoes. As thankless a task as it was the Boer War did help to prepare the regiment, and

indeed the whole British action, for a much more auspicious performance during the First World War.

Between Wars

Lewis’s military career has been one of surprise and mystery . I do believe I have at last sussed out what he actually did and reveals a somewhat complex tale ! He had signed on for a short service in the Lancers and when he had completed this at the end of the Boer War he was on a ten year Reserve in which he would be liable for a recall when deemed necessary .

Lewis left the Lancers in 1902 . He had been awarded The Queens South Africa Medal( QSA) with three clasps ( Cape Colony , Orange Free State and Transvaal ). He was in receipt of an Army Pension and had been sent first to Edinburgh and the to Maryhill Barracks in Glasgow where he was discharged . He obtained a job as a “ commissionaire “ an employee of the Corps of Commissionaires . In 1906 he married Maggie Craig Plowman and lived in 439 St George’s Road Glasgow .

My father Edward Mayall was born in 1907 and his sister Annie ( Nancy ) the following year.

The family story is that he was at the cinema in Glasgow when a message was flashed on the screen saying that all reservists had to report to their regimental barracks immediately . This must have proven a practical problem for Lewis as his Regiment at that date were based in India ! War was imminent and Lewis whatever he did was back in uniform and posted to the Curragh Co Kildare near Dublin in Ireland . How do I know this ? My cousin Alan sent me a copy of Lewis’s Army Pay Book ( below ) . It tells us he had arrived there on the 8^th August 1914 some 3 days after war had been declared !

The Curragh Mutiny

His pay after deductions was 8 pence old or 3.5 p in modern currency !!

The complexity of Irish history is such that this posting to the Curragh may not appear to have been unusual . The truth is that the Emerald Isle was in a total state of confusion and veritable anarchy as the Home Rule movement gathered momentum and the split between the Protestant North or Ulster and the predominantly Catholic South was areal political “ hot potato “ . Asquith the British Prime Minister had proposed an all Ireland Parliament in Dublin which had been violently opposed by Dublin born Edward Carson . Carson rallied the Orangemen and Protestant opposition and went further by importing weapons to defend the Province . Churchill had been given a hard time when he went to Belfast to mediate and responded by sending in March 1914 , the Royal Navy’s Third Battle Squadron to “ exercise “ off the Ulster coast . In the South , one Erskine Robert Childers , an ex Clerk to the House of Commons smuggled arms in his private yacht and these were distributed by the Irish volunteers on the cross bars of bicycles !

The spotlight turns now on the Curragh. The majority of the Officers based there in in July 1914 rendered their resignations to the British Government rather than be forced to take action against Carson and the Protestants of Ulster . This has become known as the “ Curragh Incident “ or the “ Curragh Mutiny “ . The Curragh was now a political and military time bomb in a steadily deteriorating situation .

Did Lewis Mayall enlist prior to the 8^th August shown on his pay book ? It merely say “ Date and Station – 8.8.14- Curragh “ .Was he in Ireland when the mutiny occurred ? It is now unlikely we will ever know . When he left the army after the Boer War he was on 10 year Reservist status liable to be called up whenever deemmed necessary . Things were changing rapdly . Brirtin was declared to be at War on the 5^th August 1914 . The Home Rule Bill was frozen for its execution , until th end of th War . Churchill made the classic statement “ This unpleasant problem has been erased in the sound of guns of the large war , in which the whole World are participating “.

The Great War

At the outbreak of World War One , the 17^th Lancers were to find themselves stationed in India. They had been there sine 1905 and initially they thought that they might miss the entire War . However in November 1914 , they were sent to Marseiiles as part of the Indian Cavalry Corps . We know from Lewis Mayall’s Pay Book that he returned home for a week in late August 1914 and then is listed as “ being on active service “ whereabouts not listed “ By the 27^th May 1915 he is in France being paid in Francs . to some that the time By this stage of the War , the mobile opening moves of thre armies had come to an end . The cavalry had played a vital role in this stage of the War, but would find its role severely limited from this point on by machine guns , barbed wire and mud . In the next three years , the cavalry barely

moved 20 miles in any direction from its strating point in Amiens . They sat in the reserves forever hopinthat a breakthrough might be made that would require their assistance . They were generally used more to plug gaps and relieve infantry battalions that had taken beatings on the front line .tHe one opporunity that the regiment gad to braek thriugh the German lines was actually a sign of things to come for the Regiment .The 17^th Lancers were present at Cambrai when tanks were employed en masse for the first time .

A break through was so nearly achieved but for the weight of a British tank that destroyed a vital bridge at a critical point in the campaign , However, despite this set back , it was obvious to some that the time for horses on the battlefied were becoming numbered . The fate of cavalry regiments was not completely sewn up at this time and the 17^th soon had the opportunity to demomstrate their value . In 1918, the Germans made one last desperate attempt to win the War with their most success push since 1914. The Allied lines were in disarray and falling back as quickly as they could .The 17^th were used as a mobile infantry unit being sentto plug gaps wherever they appeared . At one instance , the 17^th Lancers charged 600 yards under fire to rescue units of the 9^th Australian Infantry Brigade . Their mobility could still have uses even on the nodern battlefield.. When the 17^th got to join the bRitish counter attack they were once agin to find themselves accompanying tanks . And they were to find find that it ws safer for them to be away behin the tanks rther than have thei horses exposed to machind gun fire .

Final Part of the saga

The Haig Connectionaig Connection

As I mentioned earlier , the individual military records for the First World War were destroyed When the warehouse containing them was bombed and destroyed by the Luftwaffe in WW2 !

My story was struggling as I did not know what or where he was . I contacted my cousin Alan Buchanan living at the tine near Cockburnspath in the south east of Scotland . Alan sent me a copy of a post card sent by Lewis to his wife , our grand mother .It was Forges les Eaux during the Battle of the Somme on the 2 July 1916. It merely said : “ Dear Meg-Here is another card . They are very handy to drop a line . Remember me to all . Hoping you are still keeping in the best of health . Miss you . L. Mayall “

I was somewhat confused by the receipt of this card . Why was he sending it from a I jkewith Alan . He had been brought up by his mother Nancy Buchanan ( Mayall ) and father George . The house was shared with my grand parents Lewis and Meg Mayall . When they died many of their artifacts were retained . Alan informed me this gem of information:

“ My understanding was that our grand father never actually fought in WW 1 . He was on the staff at Allied HQ at Forges Les Eaux which I visited in the 90’s It is a small town north of Rouen and south of the battlefields .The last time I met Aunt Margaret was at St Andrews about 15 years ago. ( Aunt Margaret was my father’s younger sister – daughter of Lewis and Meg ) ) . She told me , he played golf when it was not usual for the working man and that he was an artisan member of Cathcart Castle GC ( south of Glasgow ) . These members were on lower fees and helped on the course or clubhouse for his membership . She also said that the reason he would have taken up golf was caddying for Haig who was a past Captain of the Royal and Ancient GC . He was Haig’s batman which explained more than a little ! “

The jig saw was at last nearing completion . I recalled that my father had told me that Lewis had been more than an accomplished player having won the Cameron Corbett Trophy at the Club . It must be genetic but Lewis grand daughter Ann Moffat ( Miller ) was captain of Glasgow Universities Ladies Golf team when a student and her daughter Elaine Moffat won the Scottish Ladies Golf Championship

When the War ended Lewis worked with a Glasgow Auctioneers for a number of years . Sadly he died the year I was born .Meg his wife died some 2 years later . I rust this contribution to the Mayall saga is duly appreciated .

Lewis and Meg were only sixty one years of age when they died .

Lewis Mayall at Lochearnhead Station circa

late 1930s

Lewis Mayall ( 3rd from left) Daughter Nancy Buchanan and husband George , extreme right .