John EASTERBY

19 April 1918

EASTERBY – April, 1918, date not known, died of wounds received in action in France, Rifleman John Easterby, King’s Liverpool Regiment, aged 35 years.

19 April 1918

Rifleman John Easterby, Skipton

On Monday Mrs. Easterby, 4 Sheep Street, Skipton, received a telegraphic message that her husband, Riflemen John Easterby, King’s Liverpool Regiment, had been seriously wounded, and two hours later a second telegram arrived to the effect that he had succumbed to hit wounds at a hospital at Boulogne. A son of the late Mr. George Easterby, farmer, Halton Gill. Rifleman Easterby served his apprenticeship to the grocery trade with Mr. John Gill. Skipton, and after working for some time at Manchester he returned to Skipton about eight years ago to take up the position of chief assistant to Messrs. Stockdale & Helm, who highly valued his faithful service. He joined up in March last year and went to France about two months later.

18 April 1919

EASTERBY – In loving memory of a dear son and brother, Rifleman John Easterby, who died from wounds at Boulogne April 14th, 1918.

One year has passed since that sad day
When one we loved was called away;
His loving smile, his welcome face –
No one can fill his vacant place.

From Mother, Sister and Brother, Gill Fold, Grassington.

EASTERBY – In loving memory of a dear husband and father, Rifleman John Easterby, King’s Liverpool Regiment, who died from wounds at Boulogne April 14th, 1918.

We have lost, Heaven has gained,
One of the best this world contained.

From his loving Wife and Son, 4 Sheep Street, Skipton.

EASTERBY – In loving memory of Rifleman John Easterby, King’s Liverpool Regiment, who died from wounds at Boulogne April 14th, 1918.

We often think of days gone by
When we were all together;
A shadow o’er our life is cast,
A dear one gone for ever.

From Mr. and Mrs. Hargreaves and Edith, 8 Lyndon Road, Earby.

16 April 1920

EASTERBY – In ever loving memory of a dear husband and father, Rifleman John Easterby, King’s Liverpool Regiment, who died of wounds at Boulogne, April 14th, 1918.

Cherished memories of one so dear
Are oft recalled by a silent tear.

From his loving Wife and Son, 4 Sheep Street, Skipton.

EASTERBY – In loving memory of Rifleman John Easterby, King’s Liverpool Regiment, who died of wounds April 14th, 1918.

Time does not change our thoughts of him,
Love and dear memories linger still;
Sunshine passes, shadows fall,
But true remembrance outlasts all.

From Mr. and Mrs. Hargreaves and Edith, Earby.

15 April 1921

EASTERBY - In ever loving memory of a dear husband and father, Rifleman John Easterby, King’s Liverpool Regt., who died of wounds at Boulogne April 14th, 1918.

“Too dearly loved to be forgotten.”

From his loving Wife and Son, 4 Sheep Street, Skipton.

EASTERBY - In ever loving memory of Rifleman John Easterby, King’s Liverpool Regt., who died of wounds, April 14th, 1918.

Forgotten by some, to the world he may be,
But true to our memory he ever will be.

From All at 8 Lyndon Road. Earby.

23 February 1923

ODDFELLOWS’ WAR MEMORIAL

UNVEILING CEREMONY AT A SKIPTON LODGE

OVER 200 WHO SERVED

There was a large attendance of local members of the Independent Order of Oddfellows at the Friendly Societies’ Hall, Skipton, on Saturday afternoon, on the occasion of the unveiling of a war memorial to the members of the Loyal Traveller’s Friend Lodge, I.O.O.F, M.U., who fell in the war.

The Memorial takes the form of a beautifully designed scroll within an oak frame with a glass front, the work of Mr. H. Spencer, junr., and it bears the inscription:–

LOYAL/TRAVELLER’S FRIEND LODGE,/SKIPTON DISTRICT ./I.O.O.F. ROLL OF HONOUR M.U./OF/THOSE MEMBERS OF THIS LODGE WHO FOUGHT FOR THEIR KING AND COUNTRY TO UPHOLD THE SACRED CAUSES OF BROTHERHOOD AND HUMANITY IN THE GREAT WAR, 1914–1918.

Below the inscription are the names of 173 members who served in the war, and of the 40 members who were killed. The names of the fallen occupy a central position on the scroll, and above them are the following words:–

IN MEMORIAM
OF THOSE WHO MADE THE
SUPREME SACRIFICE.
THEIR HEARTS ARE LIFTED UP
THEIR HEARTS
THAT HAVE FOREKNOWN
THE UTTER PRICE,
THEIR HEARTS BURN
UPWARD AS A FLAME
OF SPLENDOUR AND OF
SACRIFICE

The names of the fallen are as follows:– H. Armstrong, J.J. Brown, J. Barrett, Robt. Brown, W.W. Bell, A. Clayton, W.H. Coles, T.C. Chew, Tom Downes, T.M. Drummond, Jos. Emmott, Thos. Edmondson, J. Easterby, F. Gallagher, J.W. Garwood, G.E. Godwin, S.J. Hargreaves, M. Hargreaves, A. Hebden, J. Hebden, A. Hawkswell, T.E. Inman, M. Lund, R.C. [R.G.] Metcalfe, Hbt. Maudsley, Hy. Maudsley, A.J. Pimnock [Pinnock], H.Y. [Harry] Riley, T.W. Storey, J.H. Stewart, R. Spencer, J.W. Shuttleworth, Wm. Tempest, Hbt. Thompson, Fred Thornton, J.W. Varley, John Ward, J.A. Whittaker, J.W. Whittaker, and R.D. Whittaker.

The Unveiling Ceremony

The unveiling ceremony was presided over by Bro. Thos. Bellamy, and was performed by Bro. Amos Culpan, Prov. C.S., and a simple service included the singing of the hymns, ‘O God our help’ and Kipling’s Recessional, ‘God of our fathers,’ and the reading of a portion of Scripture, and the offering of a prayer by Bro. James Greenwood, of Bradford, and formerly of Skipton.

Bro. Bellamy observed that those members of the Lodge whom they were met to honour went into battle, suffered untold privations, and, in many cases, made the supreme sacrifice. They gave their lives in defence of their homes and their country. Further than that, they gave their lives for justice and freedom, and in order that we might live. It was the duty of Oddfellows, equally as much as other sections of the community, to do everything within their power to make the country better for that sacrifice. “In the time of our prosperity,” concluded Bro. Bellamy, “never let us forget those who served us in the time of our adversity.”

A Lesson of the War

Prior to unveiling the memorial, Bro. Culpan described the ceremony he had been asked to perform as one not unattended by sorrow. It was an occasion upon which one felt a desire to make their Order better for the sacrifice of its members, and to extend the true spirit of brotherhood. In nearly 4,000 of their Lodges they would find a roll of honour. Over 22,000 of their members made the supreme sacrifice, and thousands of others were ruined and shattered in health and without prospects for the future. Each and all of them ought to perform some daily service that would make the sacrifice of those men worth while. One result of the terrible ordeal of 1914 to 1918 was the creation of a better feeling between men, and a desire to break down the class barriers that formerly existed. That was one of the great lessons of the war.