King George and Queen Mary left Wentworth this morning for what was to be their last day and their second visit to Halifax. They had in fact visited the town 16 years previously, as the Duke and Duchess of York, in order to open the Infirmary and the Municipal market. As was usual by now the town was in a festive mood, but after three bright and sunny days the people of Halifax were disappointed to have a dull heavy morning in which to greet the Royal couple. Promptly at 11.15 am the train pulled in to the Halifax railway station and there to greet the Royal visitors was the Mayor and Mayoress and other civic dignitaries. A car then took them through crowded streets of the town to Dean Clough mills, famous for their carpet manufacture. They were accompanied by Sir Savile Crossley, the chair of Messrs John Crossley & Sons Ltd of Dean Clough. In the Axminster shed the Queen asked one young girl how long she had been threading and she replied ‘seven months, your Majesty’. The royal couple then inspected the Jacquard weaving machines and the chenille departments. Several times during the visit the King expressed surprise at the large size of the mill complex. The Royal visitors were next taken to the area known as Savile Park, an open space of 73 acres, which was lined with schoolchildren. As the Royal car drew up, a little girl called Mary Speed aged 10, presented her Majesty with a bouquet of pink carnations and lilies on behalf of all the schoolchildren of the town. Then the Royal visitors went to the mansion at Manor Heath which had been placed at their disposal by Mr Marchetti, the managing director of Crossley’s carpets, where they had lunch. The mansion had been placed at the disposal of Sir Savile and Lady Crossley to have lunch with the King and Queen, and so the Royal Standard flew during their visit. The King told his host that Manor Heath was of great interest to him as his father, the late King Edward had been entertained there for two days as the guest of the late Mr John Crossley, Mrs Marchetti’s father.
Today it was announced that the death toll at Cadeby had risen to 86 and the local newspapers gave a list of names and addresses of those killed and injured, although it was reported there may still be others still buried in the colliery. Bodies had to be identified at the temporary mortuary as sorrowing relatives recognised and pointed out their loved ones. In many cases identification was made more difficult by the extent of the victims injuries. At this point all work in the colliery had come to a standstill and it was reported that it was going to be another week or more before that part of the mine, where the explosion had taken place, would be open again. The previous day Mr Chambers had gone down the mine where he remained a considerable time and he explained in an interview he gave after his visit, to describe how he had examined the ‘strengthenings’ which had been put in place. There were to ensure that the affected district was completely shut off from the rest of the mine. In the office the colliery manager received a telegram from Queen Mother which read:
‘Queen Alexandra has heard with deep distress of the terrible accident at the Cadeby Colliery and wishes to convey her deepest and most heartfelt sympathy with the wives and families of those who perished in the disaster and her admiration of the brave rescuers who died in their heroic efforts to save their comrades’.
A subscription appeal had been launched for the families by local vicars, for those who had lost relatives in the disaster. The letter was sent to the Sheffield Daily Telegraph on behalf of those in need. The report stated that they were mostly resident in the parishes of Denaby Main, Conisborough and some in Mexborough. The appeal stated:
‘the appalling suddenness of the disaster, which cut off practically the whole of the men working in that section of the mine; the pathetic repetition which cut off practically the whole of the heroic rescue party; the wonderful willingness of hundreds ready to volunteer, must have touched the sympathy of the whole nation’.
The newspaper announced that the fund was to be opened at the Sheffield Banking Company at Mexborough where any subscriptions, no matter how small, could be sent. It was also reported that all day, grave diggers had been at work in preparation for the funeral due to be held on the following day, where it was expected that miners from all over Yorkshire would attend. However at the last minute arrangements were changed and instead of the one large funeral that was expected to be held at 3pm by the Archbishop of York, separate funerals were now to take place. Only 15 bodies were due to be interred in a part of Denaby churchyard which had not been used before and the Archbishop will preach in the church in the evening. Other funerals were to take place at Conisborough Church where the Archbishop will preach on Sunday morning.
Back at the Royal tour, after lunch at Manor Heath the Royal visitors left about 2 pm to visit Salterhebble where once again the streets were decorated all the way into the town. They entered the works of Messrs Marten’s factory at Lindley, where they met Mr Horace Martin and his wife and daughter Pamela aged three. Pamela presented her Majesty with another bouquet, before a tour of the cloth works. Horace Martin escorted the King, whilst his son Mr Ernest Martin was in attendance with her Majesty. They visited the mending room where 300 girls were employed and both their Majesties closely examined the large variety of cloth which was on display. As they left the King expressed his gratitude for the tour and stated that ‘in his opinion the workpeople looked happy and contented’. At Huddersfield the streets were once again lined with cheering people and the Huddersfield Territorial Army was lined up in square formation. On arrival at the foot of some steps the King assisted Queen Mary in a courteous gesture to descend. She was presented with another bouquet of white roses on behalf of the thousands of school children, and she delighted the crowd before she left, when she selected several roses from the bunch and threw them amongst the people. The route then took the Royal couple past the Royal Infirmary that they had opened years before and it was here in the grounds where the King unveiled a bronze statue of his late father King Edward. There was a novel ceremony as the King unveiled the statue by pulling a rope as he remained seated in his motor car.
The Royal party then proceeded through the main streets of the town towards the Colne Valley. At Slaithwaite their Majesties stopped at the house of a workman named Mr Matthew Waterhouse who was employed by the Gas Company. The King got out to speak to him, whilst the Queen visited another house further on, occupied by a widower aged 81. She asked the occupier, Mr U. Shaw if she might come in, and upon receiving an affirmative she stepped inside the little cottage. She asked him questions about his employment before he retired. A neighbour told reporters after the visit that King George had stood with his back to the fire ‘like a real old English gentleman’. After a short conversation their Majesties returned back to the Royal car, seeming pleased with their separate interviews. Leaving Slaithwaite the king ordered the car to pull up outside Springhead Farm, Meltham which belonged to Mr Joseph Eastwood. It was described by the Sheffield Daily Telegraph as being ‘a modern Yorkshire farm, scrupulously neat and clean and in a very isolated spot’. Mrs Eastwood was surprised by the visit and as the Queen approached she offered the Royal couple a cup of tea. Mr Eastwood seeing the Royal visitors arrive, had been working in a nearby field a short distance away. He ran to the farm to find the King and Queen of England sitting down to tea and some home made cake. Two other visitors were present at the farm with young babies and the Queen showed much interest in them. One of the mothers asked the Queen if she might rename her baby ‘Mary’ to commemorate the visit, to which the Queen gave her consent. The Royal party then went to Marsden, Meltham and Honley and it was there that they had a second afternoon tea at Northgate Mount the residence of Mr William Brook. Whilst they were there, the King and Queen were introduced to two of the oldest hand loom weavers. These were Mary Hanson, a widow aged 90 who told the King she had attended Queen Victoria Coronation. The other was Jonathon Heap aged 84 years. Queen Mary shook hands very warmly with the elderly couple.
Even in the midst of the Royal tour, their Majesties were still thinking about the disaster at Cadeby and it was announced that they had taken time from their busy schedule to send a telegram personally to Mrs Pickering, whose husband had been killed in the first rescue team. It stated:
‘The King and Queen desire to express their true sympathy with you at the irreparable loss which you have suffered by the death of your husband in the performance of his duty – a loss which will be shared by the country generally’.
The Royal couple finally returned to Wentworth at the end of a very long last day, yet after dinner they were informed that some local people had gathered to say ‘goodbye’. The King and Queen went outside to watch in amazement at the scene on the lawns in front of them. Six hundred miners had collected in front of the house, to hold a torchlight procession. The Royal couple were placed on seats in the high balcony of the central block overlooking the lawns, to watch the torch lit march past. Also on a crescent shaped platforms were assembled 300 female choristers in white dresses. They sang the ‘Hallelujah’ chorus and it was estimated that at least another 25,000 people gathered all around the edge of the eleven acre lawns to watch and listen. As soon as the choristers stopped singing, there was a surge of people onto the lawn towards the Royal couple. The police were powerless to stop them, but the King beckoned them to come nearer and they fell in behind the hosts of torch-bearing miners in front of the King and Queen. Then the choir then burst into ‘Auld Lang Syne’ to which many of the crowd joined in, finally concluding with ‘God Save the King’ followed by deafening roars. The King stood up and indicated that he intended to make a speech, at which the crowd fell silent. He began by thanking the people for the torchlight procession and the singing of the choir for himself and the Queen. He concluded:
‘It has been a great pleasure to us to visit your homes and see you at your daily work. We are deeply touched by the enthusiastic welcome given to us wherever we have been during the past few days – a reception we will never forget and which has made us feel that we were among true friends. One shadow, and a very dark one has, alas been cast over the joy and brightness of our visit to the West Riding by the terrible disaster at Cadeby, in which so many brave men lost their lives. I am sure that you know that the Queen and I feel deeply for those who mourn for their dear ones’.
Thanking the people once again and wishing them a hearty good night and good luck, the end of his speech was almost drowned out by cheers, before their Majesties retired inside Wentworth Woodhouse. As soon as they disappeared, Earl Fitzwilliam went into the crowd and thanked them for their efforts which had so greatly pleased the King and Queen. It was reported that the exact same ceremony had been re-enacted before the late King Edwards and Queen Alexander, when they were still the Prince and Princess of Wales on their visit to Wentworth in 1891. Then some of the choir had been invited into the house to give a small concert in the Grand Saloon at Wentworth. The King sat with the Archbishop of York and the Queen sat between the Earl and Countess Fitzwilliam. The singers sang a lovely selection of songs and the Royal couple asked them for a rendition of ‘Abide With Me’ in memory of those who had lost their lives at Cadeby. The King later stated that it was the most remarkable conclusion to a house party that he had ever experienced and it would remain long in his memory.
The next day the King and Queen were due to return to London, but before they left Wentworth King George received Superintendent John Haynes who had been in charge of the Rotherham West Riding police Force. He wanted to thank him and his men personally for the good arrangements made for the Royal visit. The King then gave the Superintendent a beautiful diamond scarf pin as a memento of the visit. Soon it was time to leave and as the Royal couple arrived at Wentworth station, still beautifully decorated from the previous day, once again they were met by gatherings of people. Many had travelled by train to say a special goodbye to their Majesties. At exactly twelve minutes past twelve and accompanied by members of the house party, they stepped into the station. There they found on the opposite platform were lined up the Chief Constables of Huddersfield, Halifax, Rotherham, Doncaster, Barnsley and Wakefield, all the divisions through which the King and Queen had passed. The King walked amongst them lifting his hat to each individual officer and after a brief word with their hosts the Earl and Countess Fitzwilliam the Royal couple got into the train.
That morning Mr Chambers the manager at Cadeby announced that the colliery was to re-open on Monday and stated that ‘the colliery is now safe and there is no further risk of explosions’. He announced that the ‘strengthenings’ will be kept in place for some time yet, but analysis had taken place and the pit was found to be absolutely safe. So ended the visit of King George and Queen Mary to Rotherham in July 1912, which was undoubtedly a great success, despite the disaster at Cadeby. The Sheffield Daily Telegraph summed up the Royal visit dated Friday 12 July 1912 when it wrote:
‘Yet the common sense of disaster, even more than the common sense of rejoicing, brought King and his people into closest touch with each other. Of all the weeks memorable hours, the most memorable was that evening hour in which the King and Queen stood for a while in the place of death and in the midst of weeping. They have shared both the joy and sorrow of their people, and when they go today they will leave behind an impression not only of true Kingliness and true Queenliness, but of true and deep humanity’.
If you would like to know more about the Cadeby Colliery disaster please visit the Conisbrough and Denaby Main Local History page on