Farming

Wages by today's standards were minimal, and it is possible to trace their rise across the century. In 1901 a farm worker could expect to earn 15 shillings a week. By 1910 this had risen to 17shillings, and by 1926 the wage was £1-15 shillings. In 1930 it had risen to £2-12 shillings, by 1940 it was £2-5 shillings, and by 1944 £3-15 shillings. In 1970 a student's weekly wage was a princely £10- 50p! Many Irish labourers came onto farms for the harvest period, staying on to pick potatoes and, in some cases, living in rough conditions. Around thirty Irish workers were employed in the Broomfleet area. They said to have been partial to a drink or two, and to have frequently been the worse for wear. Most farms would have usually had two Irishmen living and working on the farm, Island Farm having from six to eight in a season living in what was then referred to as the `Paddy Hut'. On one occasion, after a dispute with local `lads' who worked on the Island, the chimney on the `Paddy Hut' was blocked by a bag of straw stuffed inside, thus smoking out the occupants. Wartime saw a decrease in the number of Irish workers on the land, just the odd one here and there, and eventually they ceased looking for employment on farms.

Wartime saw another change in the agricultural labour force. With the call-up of many of the male workers The Women's Land Army was reformed. The `Land Army Lasses' were originally formed in the First World War, and had then been disbanded. The organisation was reformed in 1939 and administered by The Ministry of Agriculture. Several women were employed on local farms. They either lived on the farm or lodged in the village, doing a variety of jobs. Many came in a gang to help with thrashing or to pick potatoes. Two girls in particular had a most unladylike task; travelling around to different farms with the `War-Ag' rat-catcher, Wilf Johnson, an ex-gamekeeper who had been employed on Brantingham Estate. One of the girls who worked at Northfield House was called Maureen Abbot and lived with Mr. and Mrs. J. Waudby at Redberry House. Another land army girl, Christine Fletcher, worked at the Island and was later to become Mr. Stewart Nicoll's wife. Two other girls who worked and lived at Provence Farm

for a short while, were called Joyce Hewitt and Emily Watts. Soon after their arrival, they walked to the cinema at South Cave and back in their regulation shoes. The result of this was severely blistered feet, Mrs. Atkinson having to administer first aid. The Land Army was disbanded again in 1950, there having been some 80,000 members at the organisation's peak strength.

Following the Allied victories in North Africa, there were several Prisoners of War at camps in the district. The Italians, or `Ities', were at a camp off Beverley Road in South Cave. Sent in gangs to work on the land, they had bicycles and cycled out to the respective farms to work. They were most excitable and energetic workers. One in particular, `Ernesto', was a wonderful cook, who would bring delicious small cakes from the camp for the children. When cleaning out a ditch they would work like maniacs for half an hour then dash back to the farm, drink pints of water and run back to work. Four of the Italians worked at Crabley Farm, living on the farm and cooking for themselves. Two further Italians, `Algie' and `Louis', lived at White House Farm, returning to the camp at weekends. There were two other Italians living at Provence, `Angelo' and `Louis', and another Italian called Franco Signole must also have worked at Provence, as his name was written on a wall in the granary there.

There were German's at Bellasize, Bubwith, South Cave and Welton House, which stood on the site of Saint Anne's School at Welton. Later, after the Italians had gone home, Germans were also at South Cave. Some were not to be trusted, and they were sent out to farms under escort, sometimes with an armed guard. They helped with thrashing and other jobs where more hands were needed. However, many were delighted to be free of the German forces.

Some were very skilful with their hands. Back at the camps they would make cigarette lighters, wooden toys (in particular `pecking chickens') and trinket boxes, all of these being made from virtually nothing. They hoped to be able to exchange them for cigarettes when they got to work, in particular an English brand the Germans called `Churchill Cigarettes' Some others often did splendid paintings to pass their free time. Soon, the better prisoners were allowed cycles to come to and from the camps. The two who worked at Bridge Farm cycled from Bellasize. Most farms had two prisoners working for them, and in the later years some were to live in on the farms.

Northfield House had a P.O.W. living in at the farm. called Herbert Forster, he was an English teacher by profession, and had lived on a farm with his parents near Berlin. He had been captured on the Russian Front. He returned to Germany in 1950 and later became a lecturer at Berlin University. He wrote letters

frequently, and came back to Broomfleet for a holiday around harvest time for a number of years, sometimes with his wife. Curiously, after a while he would lapse into a Yorkshire accent. contact was lost with him in the early 1970s.

Another German P.O.W., called Karl Engle lived at Provence Farm. In civilian life he had had been an international banker. following his repatriation he resumed his former career and later returned to visit Provence. Karl had kept a list of camps that he had been held at and also of the places where he had worked.

In the Broomfleet area, he was at Provence farm in June1945 and the Island in December 1945 and May 1946. He had also worked for the Humber Conservancy at Broomfleet in December 1945 and February 1946. he was back at Provence in March 1946 and also in July 1947, coming to live at the farm in Aug 1947. Prior to this he had been at the camp at South Cave. After a year he was moved to Bellasize for a month, then in March 1948 to Storwood for a week when he was sent to Scunthorpe to work in the Steelworks until the 5th of July 1948 when he was repatriated home. There were two further German's living at White House Farm as well as others at Crabley but their names are not known

Another group of post-war workers were the `D.Ps', or Displaced Persons. These were Latvians, Estonians, Ukrainians and Lithuanians who had been conscripted into the German forces and were not allowed back to their countries by the Russians. They were housed in the former P.O.W. camps although some lived on the farms. Crabley Farm had two who lived in. one, called Edward, lived in a corrugated iron bungalow down the road from the farm. The other was called Verner Karavice. On most farms they came to help out with thrashing and other gang jobs.

Names

Within the Broomfleet area, many of the farms have had the names of workers recorded in farm buildings, the most common place being that of Granaries. Many of the names have been recorded on the wall plaster, in several cases with the passage of time this plaster has fallen from the walls or been removed, in some cases with the functions of the Granary disappearing, buildings have been demolished. Three farms still have recorded names remaining in Granary buildings the farms being Northfield House, Provence Farm and Thorpe Grange. They provide an interesting link with past life on a farm, long since disappeared job titles and how men moved from one farm to another.

The earliest name is recorded at Northfield House, Thomas Tutty of Spalding recorded he was at the farm from 1901 to 1903, other names are more familiar to the area, the majority of which are written on the doors in the Granary. Alfred

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Coultish was here in 1906, then a gap of around twenty years, when Bernard Baitson wrote he was Beastman from 1929 to 1933. In 1931 Bernard Clarkson states he was aged 19 years, three years later Harold Watson was Waggoner. During the year 1935, five men had recorded their names, A. Gelder, George Reed with the comment he was harvesting one wet day, Arthur Kitching added he was Binder Follower 1935-6, a further name written is that of the solitary surname of Jackson and George Kirk, December 26th. Frank Wilson was on the farm in 1936, then on January 8th 1939 Clarence Houseman recorded he was aged 17 years.

In 1940 Kenneth Holtby and Eric Walmsley have added their names, David Scott writes he was a Beastman in 1941, in the same year Robert Emanuel states he was aged 25 on the 21st of January, also here in this year was Horace Forvague. In 1942 the name of B. Thompson - Newport appears, recording he was a bricklayer doing pointing-up work, this may well refer to when the farm had been bombed and was involved in the repair of buildings. Harry Thompson was on the premises on August the 4th of the same year. In 1943 Stan Waudby had been on the farm, there is then a gap of nearly ten years, when Bernard Baitson is back at Northfield House. The last dated name to appear is that of George Hall in 1961.

There are also a number of undated names recorded, L. Durham (newport), B. Emanuel, Tom Gelder who was Waggoner of Broomfleet Landing, Thomas Hart, Bryan Kiff, L. Poskitt, Jack Speck - Dashing Left Half, W. Walker of 52 Havelock Street, Hessle Road, Hull and A. Wilson who states he was a casual labourer. Also recorded are the names of five housemaids at the farm, Mabel Woodall 1931 - Maid, Fanny Hichton 1931-32, Nellie Fell 1934, Eadie Gelder 1935 - Maid and that of Mary Procter with no date.

At Provence Farm there are a number of names recorded in the plaster of the Granary wals, the earliest dating from 1913 being the name of B. Bulson. Also in the same year E. Speck recorded his name. Two years later Lewis Hulson had written his name in 1915, the next recorded date is in 1921, this was Brian Kiff who is also recorded at Northfield House. T. May had left his name in 1834. Also undated are the initials T.M. which may be those of T. May again. No further dated names then appear until the 1940's, with Ray Sharman in 1940, a K. Crawford in 1941, followed by that of Frank Hesletine in 1942. On the 6/3/42 is recorded (Drainage Board) which refers to workmen of the Market Weighton Drainage Board, who could possibly have been sheltering from inclement weather. A gap of twelve years before another name is recorded. This time in 1954 Yorkshire Electricity Board workers have recorded the date 24/6/54 as being when the

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farmhouse was connected with mains electricity, followed by the farm buildings being connected on 14/10/54. In 1961 (Joe) left his name, then in 1978 on the 17th February (S.A.) recorded her initials and the date followed by Tracy Jane Atkinson writing in August 1979, she was aged 16 and a resident, these two names belonging to the daughters of the present owner of Provence Farm.

Also are recorded a number of undated names, an interesting one being that of H. Gondran (married Wagg), whic is unusual as the farm wagg was normally a young unmarried lad.

Two Atkinson names are written, one of D. Atkinson and the other of Harold Atkinson, nephews of Harold Atkinson the farmer. Bernard Baitson's name records how men move from one farm to another; he had been at Northfield House in 1933, and later in 1953. The name J. Freeman appears, it will date to between 1915 and 1942 when he was tenant of the farm.

Barry Hill had written his name at some period, as had Colin Irvine, who is known to have come from Newport. Another name is that of Tony Speck who worked on the farm. Two unfamiliar names also are recorded, those of Jim Stubbings and Barnard Woodley, as well as German and Franco Signole an Italian. A further small piece refers to Harold Atkinson who was known by a nickname `Bunt', there is the name Pat, a heart pierced by an arrow followed by `Bunt'. In a similar vein is the piece David loves Mare. Aggie Blobb records she was a housemaid at Provence Farm.

There are a smaller number of names remaining at Thorpe Grange, very few of which are dated, the earliest of which are the initials of G.A.W. 1925 followed by R.G. 1939. The next date is then in 1959 the initials P.G. appear. None of the actual names however have dates, they are Joe Baitson, a Broomfleet name, J.H. Bennett and R.P. Beverley, G. Gelder who wrote he was from Broomfleet, the names of J. Kean and G. Walker also appear along with that of J. Underwood. There are also two other sets of initials recorded, I.W. which may be Walt Ianson, and G.H. The farm, with being situated halfway between Broomfleet and Newport, it would seem most of the names relate to the Newport area.

At the present day under twenty people are in regular employment on farms within the locality. One Broomfleet man, Pete Coupland, worked at Church Farm from the age of 14 and on the 1st of August 1990 had worked at the farm for fifty years, he retired in 1991, after 51 years at Church Farm. At the beginning of the Century, the farms were all mixed farms, having a high proportion of grassland and keeping a number of cows, bullocks, pigs and (on a few of the farms) sheep.

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Various breeds of fowls were also kept.

Up to around sixty horses were used on the land, carting cultivating, ploughing, reaping, and sowing. In 1921, in association with Broomfleet Feast, there was a horse show with Mr. Stickney as judge. The show was open to people living within four miles radius of the village. There was a class for the best colt or filly, with the result being as follows:

1. C. E. May, Crabley;
2. W. Atkinson, South Cave;
3. R. Goodhand, Broomfleet

There was a further class for best groomed horse in cart gears, , with the result being as follows:

1. Stan Speck,
2. Frank Tindle.

With the outbreak of the First World War more grassland was ploughed out, and there was a slight increase in the number of horses kept on farms. Following the introduction of tractors in the 1930s, a gradual decline in workhorses began, even though much more grassland was ploughed up at this time. By the fifties they were only used on a few farms at potato picking time to pull carts in the rows. Shortly after this, the working horse had disappeared from the agricultural scene.

Over the years there had been many accidents with horses. in 1920 an accident involving loading cattle onto the rail caused the loss of an eye to Mr. John Kitching, who then worked at Pigeon Cote Farm. in 1922 he was awarded 4 shillings a week damages for the loss of his eye.

Most farms have kept a small number of milking cows. This includes the smallholdings and cowkeeper's averaging between four and six cows on each property. the onset of war brought a slight increase in numbers. the introduction of grades of milk (pasteurised, etc.) in 1922, along with regulations regarding the production of clean milk, saw a number of farms ceasing to milk cows. At this time most milk was taken to town by rail on a daily basis. over a period of time, further legislation caused other farms to cease to produce milk.

Later, came the collection of milk by road transport and the advent of bulk milk tanks. the number of farms keeping cows fell to a low level, to a point where only two had dairy cows; Crabley Farm and Northfield House. Following the sale of Thorpe Grange in 1961 to Mr. A. C. Brown, there was an increase of around

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a hundred cows. In 1971 the farm was sold again, and its return to arable farming meant that the level of dairy farming was back to its' 1961 position. in 1977 the herd at Northfield House was sold, leaving only Crabley Farm with a dairy herd. Crabley Farm stopped milking cows in 1980, bringing an end to milk production in Broomfleet.

Most of the farms also kept a number of beef cattle. these animals provided work for farm staff during the long winter months, at a time when the work on the land was at a standstill. Similarly, many of the smaller holdings also had a small number of cattle. By the 1970s only around five farms kept any cattle. With the outbreak of the B.S.E. crisis in the nineties most farms dispensed with cattle at this time, with only the odd holding still keeping them.

Pigs have been reared by farm, smallholdings, and householders. indeed during the war time period there was a householders pig club, each family killing a pig in turn and then sharing the meat with other families. there was a Government quota stating the number that may be killed, but it was not unknown for some to be secretly killed and the ham and bacon from them to be hidden out of sight of the inspectors. With the end of food rationing fewer householders kept pigs and the practice soon died out. Some farms bred pigs, whilst others reared them, they were now either sold as porkers at market or as baconers to bacon factories. By the nineties only two farms kept pigs.

Throughout the century sheep have never been kept in large numbers in Broomfleet. Only about six of the farms appeared to have kept sheep at any time, Currently there are two holdings still keeping them; Marr Farm with a small flock, and Crabley Farm with a flock of around 600 sheep.

Wheat has been one of the major cereal crops grown on farms. There were large increases in the acreage during the war-time years, and also in the recent past. There have been many changes in the varieties of wheat grown, the majority of which is now sown in the autumn. Barley is another large acreage cereal crop, but recently there has been a decrease in the amount sown. Oats were an important crop in the past, but have declined very much since the war; to a point where they are no longer grown at the present time. This is also the case with `mixed corn' a mixture of cereals, beans, peas, or vetches used chiefly as cattle food. the advent of the combine saw the end of the crop due to the different ripening times of the constituents. Rye is a crop that has occasionally been grown in the distant past, but has not been cultivated for some time.

Beans and peas have always been grown for dry harvesting. both winter and

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spring beans are still sown, but few peas are harvested as dried peas. with the advent of the freezer, both peas and beans have been grown for harvesting "green" by vining machines. Broad beans, were first grown in 1973, followed by peas grown for the Birds Eye factory to be frozen off-farm.

Flax , a plant with a pale blue flower, is another crop that has always been grown, but with a very fluctuating acreage. historically the crop had been processed in the village, but by the thirties a flax mill was set up at Staddlethorpe. During the First World War there was a great demand for the linen fibre from the flax and a large amount was pulled and harvested by hand. Following the closure of the mill at Staddlethorpe in the 1930s, the acreage grown dwindled to nothing until the onset of the Second War, when a new factory was erected near Boothferry Bridge in 1942. Again much flax was grown in the area, this time however it was harvested by machines that had been invented for the purpose. Later due to lack of demand for linen thread the works closed and the crop ceased to be grown. More recently the crop has returned, but this time is grown for the actual seed of the plant, which is crushed for oil. The oil had previously been a by-product, but it is the straw that is now waste.

Prior to 1938, Mustard had been an important crop grown on most of the larger farms. however at this time a serious outbreak of weevils caused a decline in mustard growing, and later brought it to an end . By the early seventies another yellow plant appeared in the fields; the much belittled oil seed rape grown for oil, used in cooking oils and spreading margarines. Following the introduction of set-aside, rape has also been grown as a non-food industrial crop.

Sugar Beet came on the scene around 1935; production expanding during war-time. At first it was pulled by hand and then later by machine. It was processed at the factory at Selby, being transported by rail from Broomfleet station. Following the closure of the siding at Broomfleet it was transported by road. the acreage that was grown has gradually fallen until the present day, when it is only grown occasionally in the Broomfleet area.

Potatoes have been grown in the Broomfleet throughout the century; being grown on most of the farms. many advances in varieties etc. have occurred over this period. During the harvesting of the crop many different groups have been involved. Most of those grown on a small scale were picked by the local women, whilst other picking was done by gangs of labourers from the labour exchange. During the late sixties and into the seventies many farms ceased to plan potatoes, and by the 1990s they were only grown occasionally.

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Early in the 1990's a new crop arrived, that of set-aside. under EEC directives, a variable percentage of arable land had to have no crops grown on them in order to reduce the so called `Grain Mountain'. Later, industrial crops of linseed and oilseed rape were allowed to be grown on the `set- aside' areas.

From the scythe to the satellite, machinery has seen the most radical changes in agriculture. The earliest harvesting was done by mowing the crops with scythes; in the present day it is possible to have combines connected to an orbiting satellite to tell where the crop is not as good in some parts and then put the information into the machinery later to correct the matter. Following on from the scythe came the sail reaper, which cut the crop and left bundles to be tied by hand. later in 1925 came the self binder that tied up the sheaves it had cut. these continued in various forms until the advent of the combine.

From the introduction of the first combine to the area in 1948, farms soon began to use contractors' machines. by the mid 1960s the combine had appeared on most farms. at first there were only able to bag up the grain and usually only barley was cut with them. Later, with the introduction of tanker machines, all the cereal crops were harvested this way. in turn this led to the installation of corn drying plants in the early 1960s, with most farms being equipped with them within a few years.

The coming of the combine saw the start of the pick up baler, to bale up the swaths of straw that were left in its' wake. This led to the decline of the threshing machine and then to its eventual end. on large farms the use of the old threshing machines had meant up to several weeks of work for many men,. There were several threshing sets operating in the area: Sam Downs, Harry Sharpe, Stan Speck, Fred Davis, Stan Watson, Sid Featherstone and Bob Farmery were some of the operators.

Up until the early combine era, vast numbers of hire sacks had been used on farms. huge, coarse, heavy sacks bearing the name of the London & North-Eastern Railway, and later British Railways, these were capable of holding up over 2 cwt. of beans or lesser of other crops. originally they came from the station, but later on smaller, lighter sacks, holding 12 stones were available from Chisholm Fox and Garner. George Huetson ran a depot for the company at Ingram House, for a number of years, before hire sacks eventually disappeared from the scene when tanker combines appeared.

The Tractor had appeared around the twenties, with a threshing contractor Mr. Fred Davis having one of the first. There is a newspaper report of the tractor

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coming off the Canal Bridge in 1924 due to a steering fault. This tractor, a Titan, is currently preserved at Walkington and has recently been used in a ploughing match. By the late 1930s they were becoming more common on farms, then during the Second World War many were imported from America. Makes and models included the Standard Fordson, later the Fordson Major, and the little `Grey Fergie' - Harry Ferguson's first tractor made in vast numbers. Compared to today's machines, with air conditioning, heaters, radios and automatic transmission, they were very crude. They had iron wheels and were exceedingly cold to drive in inclement weather. By the end of the fifties the tractor had completely replaced the horse on the farm. At least following a horse kept you warm!

In the early days of tractors many farmers were very apprehensive of them, due to both the cost and their lack of mechanical knowledge. there were also very few people who could service and maintain tractors. There were even reports of clods of earth being thrown at them, when not in going order!

Accidents occurred. In one instance during May 1947, Bob Emanuel drove a tractor into a ditch at Northfield House. Although trapped by the machine, he was only slightly hurt.

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