Chapter 7. First World War

War loomed in 1914, though no one realised it would last as long as it did. When it started in summer, clubs expected to carry on, the Halifax & District League advertising for clubs in open age, Under-21 and Under-18 divisions. However, Halifax Territorials were unable to play a single match given the international situation, making their field available to the league free of charge. Difficulties increased for all the others, Sowerby Bridge Free Wanderers announcing that sixteen registered players had joined the colours, but keeping going along with Rastrick, Todmorden, Elland Free Wanderers, Catherine Slack, Mill Bank, Keighley Zingari and Wyke, though Hebden Bridge suspended operations.

Brighouse Rangers “A” also entered in 1914-15, but had withdrawn by February when it had become increasingly difficult to put out two teams on a weekend as more men joined the forces. Their first team were now in the Leeds & District League with the Yorkshire Combination having ceased, but between 1916 and 1918 competed in a Merit Table with the pre-war semi-professional clubs; all teams played as amateurs in this period. When they were not included for the 1918-19 season they folded once more.

Strangely it was the Intermediate section of the Halifax League that had suffered first in the war years. Elland Wanderers and Mill Bank had been the cup finalists at White Windows in 1913-14, and they wanted to carry on, Brunswick Mills said they would join (and indeed entered the Yorkshire Intermediate Cup along with Elland and Mill Bank), while Siddal and Catherine Slack showed some interest, but no league at all materialised. In the following war years though, as open age teams closed down, it was the youngsters who took over. A Halifax & District Under-18 Intermediate League was formed for 1915-16 to replace the open-age league. Campbell’s and Elland Wanderers were involved, but there were several new teams – Pineberry, Butler’s Combination, Ripponden, Greetland, Sowerby Bridge Recreation, Akroyd Place – plus a returned Thrum Hall, and in October Siddal. And there were two others, from senior clubs Brighouse Rangers and Halifax.

Halifax were continuing to play in the war when many other leading clubs had ceased operations, but often struggled to raise a competitive team despite using guest players. Like Brighouse Rangers, they formed their own junior team called Halifax Intermediates to give them a pool of young players to fill in for them in emergencies, a team which inevitably became better than most others. Some of their players won first team experience, though it was Pineberry who produced two future professional stars in Frank Todd and Tom Schofield. Pineberry beat Elland Wanderers in the 1915-16 Championship Final, but in 1916-17 Halifax Intermediates took the honours, beating Pineberry in the Final if only after a replay. Pineberry also lost the 1917-18 Final, this time to Siddal. Campbell’s, without reaching finals, were still heavily involved, Herbert Chilcott their best player. As well as the big occasions, several ordinary league matches took place at Thrum Hall, either as curtain-raisers or two in an afternoon when Halifax were away.

Pineberry were from the old Pineberry Hill area of Southowram Bank and were to continue in the league until 1923, around the time of the closure and demolition of Pineberry Hill Tavern. They used the Territorials ground some of the time, but otherwise played near home, usually at Pump Field, Southowram Bank Top, and continued to be successful, finishing fourth in the table in their final season.

Sowerby Bridge Recreation were an amalgamation of all teams from that area, joining together as much as anything because they only had thirteen shirts left between them. Their name suggests they played on the old recreation ground at Beech, a team of that title being among those who had joined the group. They only lasted one season, but re-emerged after the war as Sowerby Bridge West End, another of the amalgamators.

Butler’s engineers in Gibbet Street, involved in rugby workshops competitions both before and after, were on wartime munitions work for the government so had plenty of young employees who were capable rugby players. They continued for a while longer when the age limit for the league increased to 20.

Akroyd Place, another who were only in the league for one season, would have been associated with the school or evening school at that town centre establishment, having reached the later stages of recent Courier Bowl competitions.

Greetland and Ripponden, who were both to continue after the war, also probably had an evening school origin.

The league was said to be one of the strongest in Yorkshire, but struggled in the later war years as more teams dropped out and the local press gave less coverage. It was thus as much a relief to Halifax rugby authorities as everyone else when the First World War finally came to an end in 1918 with an armistice on the Western Front at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.