Harrison’s Club and the Great War years
WILLIAM Harrison opened the Brownhills No 3 pit, known locally as Harrison’s pit, just off what was then called Slacky Lane (now Hazel Lane), in Landywood, Great Wyrley, in 1896.
With the success of their business ventures, the Harrison family had been able to move to Norton Hall, in Norton Canes, around 1851; they then leased further land, opening the Wyrley Grove pit in 1857.
Allotment
Captain William Bealey Harrison must have been approached in 1908, if not before, to help to establish what would become Harrison’s Club. The land on which it sat was taken from an allotment field affronting Gorsey Lane and stretching between Bentons Lane and Wharwell Lane. According to the Lichfield Mercury, the edition dated 26 April 1895, this field had been offered for allotments by Captain Harrison. Housing, in the form of Harrison Villas, had been built around this time, opposite, on Gorsey Lane.
The building has altered little in shape since it was opened, the enclosing of the veranda being the major change, although the internal arrangements have changed over the years.
The origins of the building are a little mysterious, in that the club building was already constructed when the club minutes start. A committee was formed at some stage, and its earliest recorded meeting was at the ‘Council School’ on 8 January 1909 (likely Landywood, which opened that year). Under the chairmanship of Thomas Cook, it started the process of drawing up rules, sought a steward, sought a billiard table, sought brewing tenders, and set the subscription at a shilling a quarter.
Pint glasses
The meeting on 4 February was the first at the premises, and the purchase of 100 pint glasses, 50 half-pint and just 36 wine glasses was agreed. Later, carry-out beer was also agreed, as was the acquisition of a piano and, at a cost of two pints of ale, a Mr Morris was engaged to play it. A billiard table was procured, as were agreed newspapers for general readership. The construction of a stage area was agreed in April, along with a dressing room for artistes, however, the fact that the club was a miner’s den was brought home when rules were passed on the prohibiting of bad language, drinking other men’s beer and the added purchase of three dozen spittoons.
Bowling
A bowling green was laid and a competition arranged in June 1910, as was a domino and a bagatelle tournament – the prize for these being counted not in money but in whisky. Further, November 1910 would see instruction for members not to supply non-members and children with ‘intoxicants’. The acceptance of member’s wives to attend certain functions was also agreed.
The membership stood at 253 in 1914, although some would have left for the war.
On the night of 31 January/1 February 1916 two zeppelins raided Walsall. Initially, the impact that the raid had on Harrisons would likely be contained to one of causing fear in the membership.
Immediately after the raid the government repudiated liability for damages and, after restricting its lighting in July, Harrisons purchased Zeppelin insurance in August that year. This may seem an extreme response, but some years later a ‘miniature shell, of a type used by Zeppelin crews to be flung from the air and exploded by contact with a hard surface’ was found, two feet down, in an allotment garden next to the club, so maybe not such an over-reaction.
The club did not record in their committee minutes that any individual members had been killed or any reaction to any death either in action or as a result of it.
The second half of 1917 saw Harrisons continue with supporting the local community and war effort – hosting a bowling tournament in the August for the Great Wyrley Red Cross Fund. The club also hosted a flower and vegetable show – presumably for the Great Wyrley Horticultural Society – the same month as Germany had returned to unrestricted submarine warfare back in February and growing more home produce was important as the shipping was sunk.
Memorial
June and August 1917 would see the deaths of the third and fourth members of the club recorded on the memorial plaque; both had been long-standing members and both were mature, married men. William Henry Simpson had returned to the army after being a territorial for some years, his widow would go on to be employed by the club as a cleaner – no doubt helping a little with what would have been a financial struggle for her. Ernest Thomas had been a local baker, The death of both men had been recorded in the local newspapers and must have caused some shock at Harrisons.
Tank
Fundraising for early 1918 was again split between the national and local: in March £100 was used to purchase war bonds upon the visit of Julian the Tank (an official Tank Bank scheme) to Walsall that month – over £800,000 was forthcoming from the Walsall area that took in the Great Wyrley locality as well.
As the war headed to a close the club was forced to pay just short of £50 for a new boiler, and with the beef becoming difficult to obtain, ham was instead ordered for the wakes and Christmas. Members were to get a free pint at both; more beer was requested from Bass in the October, but its delivery was a problem – the minutes stating that there would be difficulty in getting it from the railway station.
The club was still raising money, this time for the local Soldier’s and Sailor’s Comfort Fund in the December, as men were slowly coming home. There were some immediate benefits when the war ended regarding supply, as Bass agreed to supply more beer as some restrictions were lifted, however, this was still ‘war beer’.
Also in January it was agreed by the committee that war beer could be mixed with other beers. With the ban on non-harrison’s employees still in force, the membership sent a petition in April 1919 to the committee regarding to poor quality of the war beer; Harrisons contacted Bass who said that all was being done to replace it as soon as possible, but the trade was still under restriction of the Liquor Control Order. The membership mood would not have been helped by the fact that the price of a pint of Mild went up to 6½d a pint and Bitter to 7½d a pint in May.
Soldiers
The committee opened membership back up to everyone in the August and by the end of the year the number had risen from 315 to 462 – boosted by returning soldiers, no doubt.
1920 saw fundraising switch from war relief charities to supporting the parish war memorial and a bowling tournament and concert were arranged.
In the September of 1921 all beer went up by another half-penny, which means that prices had rocketed in seven years while the drink itself had been made weaker. This would be equivalent to a current pint of Holden’s Golden Glow a 4.4% bitter, currently costing £2.89, being reduced to around 2.2% ABV and retailing at around £7.22.
Strikes
This story finishes in 1921, as the club symbolically lays the conflict to rest not only with the steward finally losing his extra war pay, but with the planning, execution and unveiling of its roll of hour and memorial plaques. Members who fought in the war may have thought their fighting done; but before long they were fighting for the right to go to work. March 1921 saw the government hand back the coal industry to the private owners after wartime nationalisation, and the post-war depression meant that wages were likely to be cut and miners went on strike or were locked out.
Harrisons Club sought to help members by providing tea and lunches for children through the troubled months. Nationally, the miners returned to work in the July with their wages much reduced.