In Edwardian times it was common practice for families and friends to create albums of material that they may have created themselves or developed from other sources. This particular album, from Walsden in West Yorkshire, was started in 1914, at the outbreak of World War I, probably as a result of needing a distraction from the horrors of war, and was completed by 1923. It illustrates the high moral standards expected in these times, as well as the creative skills, albeit sometimes naive, of the individuals involved. Note that missing page numbers were blank.
The transcribed pages of the book appear below, with full-resolution artwork here
Frontispiece
- Eveline Hartley
- 2 Ashdene
- Henshaw Rd
- Walsdin [sic]
1
- When the golden sun is setting
- And your mind from care is free
- When of others you are thinking
- Will you sometimes think of me
- Albert Hartley - Nov 1st - 1915
2
- If scribbling in albums,
- Remembrance secures,
- With the greatest of pleasure
- I'll scribble in yours.
- Mrs A Hartley - 2 Ash Dene, Walsden - Oct 29/1915
3
5
- Go into the world with a might
- Determined to do what’s right
- And if others scoff and sneer
- You will never have need to fear
6
- If you your lips, would guard from slips
- Five little things beware;
- Of whom you speak, to whom you speak,
- And how, and when, and where.
7
- Song from "The Husband of Poverty"
- There was a knight of Bethlehem,
- Whose wealth was tears and sorrows;
- His men-at-arms were little lambs,
- His trumpeters were sparrows;
- His castle was a wooden cross,
- Whereupon He hung so high;
- His helmet was a crown of thorns
- Whose crest did touch the sky.
8
- All is not gold that glitters.
- R K Jackson - Mar 28th 1916
9
11
- When in this book you look,
- and on this page you frown,
- Think of the one whose s...
- Ⅎ Ⅎ
- ˙uʍop ǝpᴉsdn ƃuᴉʇᴉɹʍ ʎq
'ʞooq ɹnoʎ ʇlᴉods ǝsoɥʍ ǝuo ǝɥʇ ɟo ʞuᴉɥ┴
'uʍoɹɟ noʎ ǝƃɐd sᴉɥʇ uo puɐ
'ʞool noʎ ʞooq sᴉɥʇ uᴉ uǝɥM
13
14
- Life is a city full of streets
- Death is the market where all men meet
- If life were a thing that money could buy,
- The poor would not live and the rich would not die
15
16
- There is music in the hammer,
- There is music in the nail,
- There is music in a pussy-cat,
- If you hold it by the tail
17
18
19
21
22
- When this you see
- remember me
- And think of me
- sometimes
- Let all the world say
- what they will
- But speak of me
- as you find me
23
24
25
- We cannot of course all be handsome
- Tis hard for us all to be good
- We are sure now and then to be lonely
- And we do not always do as we should
- To be clever is not always easy
- To be patient it’s much harder still
- But at least we can all be pleasant
- If we make up our minds that we will
26
- There’s a brand new Hospital in our square
- Where the queerest of patients are tended with care.
- When I paid them a visit I saw in a crib
- A little umbrella who’d broken his rib.
- And sadly I saw in the very next bed
- A bright little pin who’d bumped his poor head.
- I heard a loud scream ＆ soon I espied,
- A lady-like shoe with a stitch in her side
27
29
- When through the woods your roaming,
- And there you chance to see,
- A little flower forget-me-not,
- Pluck it and think of me.
- Ruth Highley - Nov 13/1915
30
- Your kindness shall bring to you many sweet hours,
- And blessings your pathway to crown;
- Affection shall weave you a garland of flowers,
- More precious than wealth or renown.
31
- Make new friends but keep the old
- One is silver the other is gold
- Brows may wrinkle hair turn grey
- True friendship never knows decay
- J J Williams - Nov 2/1915
32
- The day is cold and dark, and dreary;
- It rains and the wind is never weary;
- The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
- But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
- And the day is dark and dreary
- - Longfellow
- The mind has a thousand eyes,
- And the heart but one;
- Yet the light of the whole life dies
- When love is done.
- - Bourdillon
33
- Changes may come, friends may depart,
- Changes will never change my heart,
- I am your friend yet and will be for ever
- You may change
- But me never.
- Ethel Crossley - No 2 Beech Street, Walsden - Feb 14th 1916
34
- In after years when this you see,
- I wonder what your name will be.
- Annie Pengilly - 2 Bath St, Walsden - Feb 14 1916
35
36
- A pretty face to look upon
- is better than a plain one
- but a character is everything
- and you should try to gain one.
37
- Bliss to those that love thee.
- Bliss to those thou lovest.
- May heaven smile upon thee
- Where so, ere thou rovest
- J A Crowther - Nov 2/1915
38
- There’s no love like a Mother’s
- You may seek for it in vain
- You may be love’d by others
- But a mothers love ne’er comes again.
- Mrs Greenwood - Nov 2nd/1915
39
- Men want but little here below
- And are not hard to please
- But women, bless her little heart
- Wants everything she see’s.
- Ruth Greenwood - Nov 2nd/1915
40
- Love many
- Trust few
- Learn to paddle
- Your own canoe
41
42
- Mary had a little watch,
- She swallowed it one day
- And now she’s taking Epsom Salts
- To pass the time away.
43
44
- Always speak kind of a neighbour,
- You’ll find it a far better plan,
- To be honest and true in all that you do,
- And speak a kind word when you can.
45
- When the distant sun is setting
- And from care your heart is free
- When of others you are thinking
- Will you sometimes think of me
- Think of me when you are lonely
- Leave for me one little spot
- In the depths of your affection
- Plant one sweet ‘forget me not’.
- Nellie C Clegg - Birks Hall, Walsden - June 12 1916
46
- You never can tell when you do an act,
- just what the result will be,
- But with its every deed,
- you are sowing a seed,
- Though its harvest you may not see.
47
- Try to B sharp,
- never B flat,
- ＆ Always B natural
48
- Dear Jesus ever at my side
- How loving Thou must be
- To leave Thy home in Heaven to guard
- A little child like me
49
- We may write our names in albums
- We may trace them in the sand
- We may chisel them in marble
- With a firm and steady hand:
- But Dear friend there is an album
- Full of leaves of snowy white
- Where no name is ever tarnished
- But for ever pure and bright:
- And in that book of Life, God’s album,
- May our names be penned with care,
- And may all who here have written
- Write their names for ever there.
50
51
- How‘er it be
- It seems to me
- ’Tis only noble
- To be good.
- Kind hearts are more
- Than coronets
- And simple faith
- Than Norman blood
- Annie Holt - Jan 2nd 1916
52
- Love many, trust few,
- Learn to paddle your own canoe.
- Love is like the red red rose.
53
- Speech is silver
- but silence is golden
- Nora Crossley - Jan 9th 1916
54
55
- Here’s health to the bird that sits in the tree,
- May it never lose a feather,
- If I can't have the boy I love,
- I’ll have another fellow.
56 ＆ 57
- Like lilies we must be
- Like water lilies bright,
- That float upon the stream
- So fair, and pure, and white
- Like lilies of the vale
- That hang their heads so low,
- We, too, must humble be
- Would we to heaven go.
- And if we too are pure
- Like water lilies pale,
- And lowly in our minds
- Like lilies of the vale;
- The golden lilies grace
- And beauty shall be ours,
- When God on high transplants
- His little human flowers.
- Mrs J Hartley - 16 Bottomley Road, Walsden - Jan 1st 1916
58
59
- Remembrance lives to linger near
- The scenes of love and friendship dear;
- And memory oft brings back to view
- The happy hours I passed with you
60
61
63
- Don’t judge a man by the clothes he wears,
- For many an honest heart beats beneath a ragged coat.
64
- Ye noble sons of England that love our native land
- “Arise”, an army brave ＆ strong
- At duties stern command
- Your glorious heritage defend
- Drive back the deadly foe
- We’ll bravely fight for truth ＆ right
- And the enemy overthrow
- Mrs John Hartley - Jan 9th 1916
65
- Little blue violet come forth your head
- Cosily up in your little green bed
- Dewdrops are waiting till you wake up
- Fain would they grow in your little blue cup.
- Edith May Hartley - Jan 9th 1916
67
- How sweet it is to hear the bells
- That call us to our pews
- But sweeter still to lie in bed
- And have another snooze.
69
71
- A diamond may glitter
- And flash like a star
- But the smile of a friend
- Is brighter by far
- Edith Williams - Nov 2 1915
72
- Little Kittie was saying – “I always take care,”
- As she washed up the tea things one day;
- When a cup dropped right out of her hand “by itself,”
- To her grief and utter dismay.
- In a moment she said, with an air of excuse,
- As she picked up each piece from the floor,
- “Now, I really don't think you should scold me, Mamma,
- For I never broke “this” one before”.
- Mary Holt - 6 Ash Dene, Walsden, Todmorden - March 8th 1916
73
- Here’s to us two and two more,
- And if them two love us two
- as we two love them two,
- Then here’s to all four.
- But if them two don’t love us two
- as we two love them two,
- Then here’s to us two and no more.
- Nellie C Clegg - June 12th 1916
74
- Make hay while the sun shines
- No morning sun lasts all the day
- Mrs R H Holt - Jan 9th 1916
75
76
- Joy walketh close in the footsteps of sorrow
- We find not the thorn till the rose we have passed
- But let it be grief or joy on the morrow
- God’s way is the way that is always the best,
- Henry Jackson - May 28/16
77
79
- There’s a jewel we all would own
- Known to men as happiness
- See it, follow it, if you can,
- Never lose your eagerness
- But search not for it far and wide,
- It’s waiting by your own fireside.
80
80
83
85
- Whoever you are, be noble
- Whatever you do, do well
- Whenever you speak, speak gently
- Give joy where ever you dwell
- Pte Edgar Morris - Nov 2/1915
86
- True gentleness is in the heart
- No matter how you’re dressed
- It is the things you say and do
- That show what you are at best.
- Mrs Williams - Nov 2/1915
87
- It’s a very good world to live in
- To spend, or to lend, or to give in
- But to beg or to borrow or get a man’s own
- It’s the very worst world that ever was known
- M A Williams - Nov 2/1915
89
- Go search the world: go search the sea.
- Then come you home and sing with me.
- There’s no such gold and no such pearl
- As a bright and beautiful English girl
90
91
- Ladies Only
On this page, below this title, there’s a small pink envelope containing a piece of paper that says:
- Is it not true
- that men are
- very inquisitive
- Mary Holt - 6 Ash Dene, Walsden, Tod - March 7 1916
93
- By diligence ＆ perseverance
- The mouse eat the cable in two
- R H Holt - Jan 9th - 1916
95
97
- If you’ve a mother with silvery hair,
- Love one another, trust her with care.
- As you grow older the least you can do
- Is to do unto mother as she’s done for you
- Mrs H Highley - Nov 13/1915
99
100
101
- The jewels and gems that we treasure
- Some joys of the past may recall
- But the gift of a true heart’s offering
- Is the brightest jewel of all.
- Mrs E Uttley - 341 Halifax Rd, Todmorden - Nov 2nd 1915
102
- How little it costs if we give it a thought
- To make happy some heart each day.
- Just one kind word or a tender smile,
- As we go on our daily way.
- Mrs Horsfall - Nov 2nd 1915
103
- All that you do, do it with your might
- Things done by half are never done right.
- Spend not all you have,
- Believe not all you hear,
- And tell not all you know.
- S W Horsfall - Nov 2nd 1915
104
105
- The world is a difficult riddle
- For how many people we see,
- With faces as long as a fiddle
- When they ought to be shining with glee.
- Miss C Horsfall - 12 Chapel St, Walsden
106
108-9
110
- Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife on land in air or water,
- but thank the Lord it does not say, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s daughter.
- W Jackson - May 28th 1916
111
- Two ears and a single tongue
- By nature’s laws to man belong
- The lesson she would teach is clear
- Repeat but half of what you hear
- If you can't be aisy
- be as aisy as you can *
- * aisy is an archaic spelling of easy
112
- A pair in a hammock
- attempted to kiss
- When all of a sudden
- They landed like sᴉɥʇ
- Ethel Pengilly - 2 Beech St, Walsden
113
- Sympathy without Relief
- Is like Mustard without Beef
- Ethel Pengilly - No 2 Beech St, Walsden
115
116
117
- And now I lay me down to sleep,
- A little boy once said,
- But if I die before I wake,
- How will I know I’m dead.
- Mrs Holt - Walsden - April 6th 1916
118
- Nought shall make us rue,
- If England to itself do rest but true.
- Everyone is as God made them, and
- oftentimes a great deal worse.
- H Allen … Walsden - June 24th 1919
119
- Curved is the line of beauty,
- Straight is the line of duty.
- Walk by the last, and thou shalt see,
- The other ever follow thee.
121
123
Back Page
- By Hook or by crook
- I’ll be the last in your book.
- Mary Holt - 6 Ash Dene, Walsden, Tod - March 8th 1916
Converted to this form by Ray White, over a hundred years later, during another war, the coronavirus pandemic of 2020.
