Crawley Celebrates the Coronation of King George V

On May 6^th 1910 the King, Edward VII died. Amongst other things Edward VII was responsible for the Entente Cordiale which saw Britain move into an alliance with France. This was the final power block in a very complicated jigsaw puzzle of European alliances and was to become one of the major reasons for Great Britain entering the Great War.

The following year King George V was crowned on June 22^nd and the coronation was duly celebrated by the people of Crawley with special services at the Crawley and Ifield churches, the planting of an oak tree to mark the occasion and a sports day for all ages. A committee had been put together to raise nearly £100.00 for the celebrations and the main street and branch roads had been gaily decorated, flags and bunting being extensively used. Practically every house displayed some sort of decoration, and in several instances coloured fairy lights were used to much advantage.

At 1:30pm the Crawley Town Band commenced a brief programme of selections in the Square, and half an hour later the crowd which had assembled proceeded to the Green, where the commemoration tree was planted/. By this time, unfortunately, rain began to fall somewhat heavily, and had the effect of keeping many away or driving home many who were present. The tree, a small oak, the gift of J. Cheal & Sons, was planted in front of the Brewery in the course of a short ceremony. The National Anthem brought this part of the proceedings to a close and a procession was formed to the cricket ground where the sports events took place. Amongst the judges was Sergt. Ted Cook. There was also much singing and dancing at The George Hotel in the evening. 

Bravo BBC!

Well said Jeremy! Although the series did have some flaws, it was undeniably emotional and a worthy start to the BBC World War One programming. Bravo BBC!

The Centenary - Time For a New War Memorial in Crawley?

With the proposed second runway at Gatwick Airport becoming more of a reality than ever and the news that the church at Lowfield Heath will have to be demolished to make way for it, this raises a number of questions about the bodies of the service men who are buried there and the Lowfield Heath war memorials never mind all the other burials and all the history.

We all know that Crawley has changed beyond all recognition from the small town it was a hundred years ago to the major conurbation it is today.

I believe the time has come to consider a new war memorial for Crawley and the surrounding districts. What shape this may take and where it should be placed are decisions best left to the powers that be.

What better way to show the world that these men are still being remembered.

One of the men buried at Lowfield Heath is Sergeant Major Frank Killick, one of three Killick brothers, who lost their lives during the Great War. The newspapers at the time reported it thus:

Death of Sergt. Major F. Killick – very many friends of the family will be grieved to hear of the death of Sergt. Major Frank Killick, whose home was at County Oak, Crawley, and who passed away on the 6^th February 1919 in Hellingly Asylum, to which institution he was removed some months now. He had been in the army a good many years, seeing considerable service in the South African war and also in the war just ended. He unfortunately came home suffering from shell shock, and his illness subsequently became so acute that his removal to the institution named became necessary. The deceased was 42 years of age. The funeral took place at Lowfield Heath on Thursday afternoon, when there were many expressions of sympathy with the bereaved and of regret at the death of one man who was greatly respected by all who knew him.

We should never forget the price that was paid.

The Edwardian ‘Golden' Summer in Crawley.

Apart from the announcement of their births, the first mention of Eddie and Don Cook that I could find appeared in the local paper dated 12th June 1909. The boys are recorded playing cricket for North House School which I believe was situated beyond the lower square on Crawley high street. Eddie Cook made 6 with the bat but Don was out for a duck, however he did take a catch as the school ran out winners scoring 228 with Mr C. A. Wilson’s XI managing only 60.

Also playing for Mr C. A. Wilson’s XI was Hedley Garrett who made 28 runs. Garrett was to die of dysentery aged 23 on HM hospital ship ‘Rena’ on the 21^st October 1915, a casualty of the ill fated Gallipoli campaign. He was buried in Malta.

The older generation of the Cook family were enjoying further success with the Crawley Rifle Club at the National Rifle Association at Bisley with Crawley coming second in the team shoot and uncle Chris tying for first place in the military mail competition. A few weeks later, it was time for the annual building firms outing.

The employees messrs. J. Longley & Co., messrs. Bartley & Ward, messrs. Cook & Sons, and Mr R. Easton (Crawley), Mr Warren (Ifield), Mr T. Wickens (Charlwood), and the Sussex Brick & Estates Co. (Warnham), combined for their annual outing on Saturday, and in two special trains were conveyed to Ramsgate and Margate. Starting at 6:20am, the Crawley contingent, numbering about 300, had a splendid run to the seaside, via Tunbridge Wells, and arrived at their destination at 9:30am.

The weather was beautifully fine, and nothing happened during the day to mar the pleasure of the proceedings. On this occasion there was no organised dinner, the excursionists being left to make their own personal arrangements in this respect, and the change seemed to give universal satisfaction.

The many attractions of Margate, Ramsgate, Broadstairs and other near places were enjoyed to the full, and the outing was generally voted to be among the best ever held. Leaving the seaside at 9:30pm, the party reached Crawley at 12:30am on Sunday morning, the journey both ways being quick and comfortable. The arrangements in connection with the trip were admirably made by a committee composed of representatives from each of the firms participating.

Crawley Rifle Club

As well as his position as head of the family building firm R. Cook & Sons, prime mover of the local 4^th Royal Sussex Regiment Alfred Edward Cook (Uncle Ted) was also heavily involved in the Crawley & District Rifle Club.

In July 1908 the Crawley team upheld their reputation in shooting for the national championship (low power) trophy Bisley. Although, with two exceptions, the team are unused to outdoor shooting, owing to being without an outdoor range, they succeeded in taking third place, beating such clubs as the Alexandra Palace and Beckton and only falling short by seven points from the winning team Southfields. The shoot took place in a down pour of rain, and this, no doubt, accounted to some extent, the winning team being, without exception, composed of hardened veterans and men who have all been prize winners on Bisley Heath whereas the Crawley team, with one exception, made this their first visit.

Out of a possible one hundred uncle Ted hit the target 91 times and his brother Chris hit the target 90 times

At the end of October on a Wednesday evening, in the George Hotel, the solid silver Winterton Cup was presented by Earl Winterton, MP, for competition among rifle clubs in his constituency which was won by the Crawley Rifle Club. Amongst those present were both Ted and Chris.

In his speech Earl Winterton congratulated the Crawley Club on the success achieved and said it was indeed gratifying to see that the movement was so well supported throughout the county by men of all classes, irrespective of party, and that the people were rapidly beginning to see that the defence of the country could not be entrusted to a few and that it was the bounden duty of all to fit themselves for defence. Those who had not time to join the Territorials Forces should consider it their duty to join a rifle club (applause). He wished the rifle club movement every success and hoped the excellent example shown by the Crawley Club might be copied by all other clubs in the division and that next year they would secure and even larger entry for the competition than they had done this year (applause).

Crawley Rifle Club Circa 1910. Standing at back far left is Uncle Chris, next to him, Uncle Ted.