Bradford History Lunchtime Lectures Bradford Local Studies Library
These talks are given by members of FoBALS (Friends of Bradford Archives & Local Studies) with Bradford Local Studies Library and West Yorkshire Archives Bradford.
Doors open at 2 pm for a 2:15 pm start. Free entry to all events. Booking essential.
Roman Archaeology in Yorkshire – an illustrated talk by Derek Barker Thursday 30th October 2025 2:15 pm
This is a free event, but booking is essential
For more information or to book a place please telephone or email Bradford Local Studies Library, Telephone 01274 433688, Email local.studies@bradford.gov.uk. Bradford Local Studies Library, Margaret McMillan Tower, Princes Way, BD1 1NN.
The Men of Worth Project have been busy creating a Remembrance Trail in Oakworth and the launch event will be at Oakworth Community Hall on the 30th of October. About 100 A3 boards will be installed by volunteers on lampposts around Oakworth on 28th October 2025 and they will be on display until the end of November.
The boards will be positioned near to the former homes of each man. People who read their brief stories on the boards can visit The Men of Worth Project website and/or use their phones to scan a QR Code on each board to go to the website to read their whole stories. We hope it will give people a sense of where these brave soldiers lived, before going off to war, never to return.
Andy Wade, project director states:
“One hundred A3 boards will be seen on lamp posts around Oakworth from the end of October until the end of November. People who read their brief stories on the boards can use their phones to scan the QR Code on each board to go to the Men of Worth Project website where they can read their whole stories. We hope it will give people a sense of where these brave soldiers lived their lives before going off to war, never to return.”
Keighley Mayor, Councilor Chris Herd, responeded: “Keighley Town Council is proud to support the Oakworth Remembrance Trail, ensuring the bravery and sacrifice of our local service people are remembered where they lived. This project, in partnership with Men of Worth and the Army Cadets, honours their legacy and brings our community together in respect and remembrance.”
For More information on the Men of Worth Project please see the website Men Of Worth
‘Meeting the Meat Demand’ with Karl-Heinz Wüstner.
Over the summer, the History Society was presented with the opportunity for a talk by Karl-Heinz Wüstner on German immigration to West Yorkshire. With all of our regular slots already filled (and the budget pretty much used up), our solution was to book Keighley Local Studies Library for an extra talk on the afternoon of Wednesday 1st October. The talk, entitled ‘Meeting the Meat Demand’ will start at 2.30pm and will finish around 4.30pm (time for the talk plus discussion at the end). There is a charge of £2 per person (fee applies to members and visitors).
Karl-Heinz Wüstner is a retired high school teacher from Ilshofen, Germany. As a local historian he has studied labour migration and conducted research on trade and craftsmanship in the Hohenlohe region of Germany for many years. He is a committee member of the Historical Society for Württemberg-Franconia and chairman of a local museum that exhibits painted furniture. He writes books and articles, and has given talks at numerous conferences and seminars.
Karl-Heinz Wüstner: “The continuing industrialisation of Yorkshire in the 19th century created many additional jobs in wool mills and factories. Industrial centres grew rapidly and the large number of newly arrived workers needed to be fed. German immigrants in particular took advantage of these circumstances. As butchers, they not only offered meat, but also produced a variety of tasty sausages, meatloaf, rissoles and many other products that could be eaten either cold or warm after brief heating. With the introduction of takeaways, also offering hot meals, they broke new ground in food supply and thus established new eating habits.
“Quite a number of such pork butchers settled in the up-and-coming town of Keighley. A whole series of butcher’s shops with more than thirty female and young employees dominated the streetscape. Names such as Andrassy, Pfeiffer, Hofmann and Schneider may still be remembered by some today.
“I will try to explain why the butchers and their families left their homeland and how they were able to succeed as immigrants. I will explore the important role they played in the development of the towns and cities, as well as their personal fates.”
Article and Photos by Tim Neal, Keighley & District Local History Society.
Buildings, bridges and beehives! The theme for this year’s Heritage Open Day is architecture and all about exploring how we’ve designed and built the world around us.
This year as part of Heritage Open Days Tim Neal of Keighley & District History Society will be giving a talk about Keighley Now & Then, looking a how the town has changed through his collection of Lillywhite Postcards. The talk is free as part of Heritage Open Days and is on Saturday 20th September 2.00-3.00pm, upstairs in the Local Studies Library,
Here are just a few of the postcards and photos that will be used in the talk.
Cavendish Street Keighley, now and then. Cliffe Castle Gateway Skipton Rd.Town Hall Square Keighley.
Elevation of Mansion House 1878
Sections of Mansion House 1878
Floor Plans of Mansion House 1878
We will also have on display some of our collection of Building Plans showing Prominent Keighley buildings which are part of our Archive Collection.
This is a heartwarming autobiography from former professional Keighley Rugby League player, David “Pete” Adamson, now living in Texas, but still following “the passing game”, that has been such an influence on his Keighley youth, career in the armed forces and as a trainer in his retirement years.
Both David’s parents were from Keighley and though he was born in Wath-on-Dearne in 1942, he returned to Keighley with his mother after the early death of his father. His mother, Mary, was one of ten children and had taken work in the local Keighley mill from the age of 11, crawling under the machinery to pick up bobbins that had fallen on the floor. On returning to Keighley, she returned to the textile trade with a job at Knowle Mill (formerly Heaton Mill) to support herself and her son.
David’s father, Sidney, had played rugby in Keighley and his influence led to David’s lifelong passion for the game. This is a story of hard times and good and how the game supported him and brought joy into his life, even during his army service abroad. David writes about his times as a player for Keighley Albion Amateur Rugby League Club and his professional play for Keighley RLFC.
The book is dedicated to his lovely wife, Miriam, who, when they recently lived over here in Haworth for a while, volunteered in Keighley Local Studies Library. Miriam even joined us recording her research into stagecoach travel from Keighley in the 19th century, it’s still available, check it out on this website:
Thanks once again Miriam and David for the generous donation of books to Keighley Library.
The Courage of his Convictions: The Life and Work of George Demaine by Colin Neville (ISBN: 978-1-0682899-0-3)
This fully illustrated book is number eleven in the Not Just Hockney series of books on the work of past artists in the Bradford district. The full list of titles can be found on the Home page of the website at www.notjusthockney.info Keighley Local Studies Library presently has 2 copies available for loan, more to follow soon.
George Frederick Demaine was a committed Methodist, husband and father; a talented painter, sculptor, model-maker, film set designer. He received his initial training at the Keighley School of Art at the Mechanics’ Institute. As a Conscientious Objector during World War One, he was imprisoned.
Colin Neville goes on to say,
“For those men that enlisted or were conscripted into the armed services, their courage came, not so much in their enlistment or acceptance of conscription into the services, but how they responded later. Their courage came from standing alongside their comrades once the real bloody horror of this war was exposed to them. Millions paid the ultimate price for this.
For George Demaine, the nature of his courage was to stand firm to his principals; principals that shunned participation – in any way, shape or form – that served this particular and pointless war. This was a courage in the face of open, bitter and sustained hostility from all sides.
But unlike the Fallen of the Great War, George lived. He lived to become a creative member of society in general, and in particular during World War Two, when he used his artistic talents to save lives and property from enemy bombing. Commitment, courage and talent of the type displayed by George Demaine always deserves recognition and its place in history.”
As usual, for Not Just Hockney publications, the book is beautifully illustrated, this time with kind permission from John Demaine, grandson of George Frederick Demaine.
