Pudsey-based sports pournalist James Oddy has been hard at work again.
His new book, Blue and Amber Voices: Stories from Leeds Rugby League, is out today and provides a collection of first-hand accounts from some of the greatest players to ever pull on the famous blue and amber kit of Leeds rugby league club.
Spanning multiple generations and eras, the book charts the ups and downs of one of rugby league’s great clubs. Relive the glory days of the 1960s and 70s with Alan Smith, the big-spending 80s with Gary Schofield, the promise of the 90s with Francis Cummins, the domination of the 2000s with Jamie Peacock and consider the future of the game with Caitlin Beevers.
With a plethora of candid and revealing interviews from some of the most explosive and entertaining players of the last 50 years from both the UK and down under, Blue and Amber Voices offers an array of stories and insight rarely seen previously.
James Oddy said: “It’s been an absolute privilege to put this together. Rugby League has been a part of my life for 25 years, and Leeds along with it. I love the sport, club and city. Featuring new interviews with Great Britain, New Zealand and Australian internationals, cult favourites, and new stars of the women’s game, it’s a reflection on one of the worlds greatest rugby clubs.”
James has written both nationally and internationally about sport, culture and film for such publications as Four Four Two, Rugby League Express, Prospect and Little White Lies. His 2017 rugby league biography, True Professional: The Clive Sullivan Story, was named among The Guardian‘ssports books of the year and was the basis for an acclaimed documentary in 2021.
Book launches
Blue and Amber voices, is out today (Monday, 29 April).
Philip Howard Books Ltd. – 47 Street Lane, Roundhay LS8 1AP. Book launch Saturday, 4 May from 2pm. Meet Garry Schofield along with author James Oddy at the signing. Call 0113 225 9797 to reserve your copy.
Waterstones Book Shop – 93-97 Albion Street Leeds Ls1 5AP. Book launch Tuesday, 7 May from 6.30pm. Details here.
Truman Books – 95 Town Street, Farsley LS28 5HX. Book launch Wednesday 29 May. Doors open 6.30pm event starts 6:45pm. James Oddy will talk about his latest publication. Grab your tickets here.
A partner to help deliver new houses at the multi-million pound Kirkstall Forge development will be selected ‘in the next few months’, site owners CEG have said.
CEG have outline planning permission for 1,385 homes at the former industrial site, which currently features a commercial and office block and a train station. The developers have been looking to identify a partner to deliver a high-quality housebuild to the east and west of the site, and had set a deadline of 4 April for potential partners to come forward.
CEG commercial development director Antonia Martin Wright this week told WLD: “We received a strong partner response and are now working through information with a view to selecting a partner in the next few months.”
Part of the Kirkstall Forge site, waiting for residential development. Photo: John Baron
The eastern parcel of land consists of 12.63 acres surrounded by an established woodland. Listed buildings on the site will be retained by CEG and its investors. The three-acre western parcel features access from the A65 and through Kirkstall Forge.
WLDreported last July that CEG hope to have both new office and residential developments up and running ‘within a couple of years’ – and admitted that a combination of the Covid pandemic, the cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine had all impacted progress on both commercial and residential elements of the 57-acre site.
The partnership opportunity was advertised on the Saville website and can be viewed here.
Activity is continuing Kirkstall Forge and a new Green Skills course will be starting at Forging Futures Campus. There will be an open day on 18 June.
A musical celebration of the life of Kirkstall Forge legend, Betty Beecroft, is set to hit the boards from Thursday, 2 May, at Armley’s Leeds Industrial Museum in the world premiere of folk musical Mother of the Revolution. More details and tickets can be found here.
Farsley Celtic Deaf took part in the Champions' League held in Athens during the summer.
Farsley Celtic Deaf team are officially the third best team in Europe after flying the flag for Farsley in Athens for the past week.
The Celts have taken on three of the European giants like CSSM Paris, POK Athens and St John’s and help off the challenge of French side Reims to secure third place in the Deaf Champions’ League (DCL).
They beat fellow English side St John’s after extra time in the third place playoff yesterday (Saturday) to cap a memorable year for the team, which also has ten representatives in the England squad for the European Championships this summer.
Farsley Celtic Deaf are in the semi finals of the Deaf Champions League.
A Farsley Celtic Deaf statement celebrated the achievement: “24 men went to DCL in Athens, Greece with a dream, to prove that we deserve to be up there with the elites of Europe.
“An unknown village in Yorkshire with home grown talent went to take on the finest deaf teams in European football.
“The Celt Warriors had the hardest route, having to overcome three of the European giants like CSSM Paris, POK Athens and St John’s.
“[We] earned our respect among the European elites with our die-hard attitude, discipline and passion. The boys worked their socks off, gave everything for the Farsley badge. We were like brothers, a family and it’s just an unbelievable fairytale chapter in a story book and this was our second DCL appearance.
“Last year hurt, drove the boys on and we couldn’t ask for anything more. We are proud to say that we are the top three teams in Europe. We are Farsley, we are the true Celt warriors!”
A grant of over £207,000 has been awarded to improve the energy efficiency of two popular West Leeds leisure facilities.
Council-run Pudsey Leisure Centre has received £125,000 from Sport England for plant room insulation and additional metering and monitoring software.
And community led Bramley Baths has received £82,230 to install photo voltaic panels and metering and monitoring software at its Grade II Listed Edwardian building in Broad Lane.
Jewel in Bramley’s crown: Bramley Baths. Photo: Jo Fiddes
Bramley Baths CEO David Wilford welcomed the grant. He said: “The work will help our sustainability and provide 34% of our electricity usage, reducing our carbon footprint as well as our electricity bills. Any reduction is a big help to us as energy forms a big part of our costs.”
He said work will also be carried out on the Baths’ roof to enable it to take the extra weight of the panels, and a planning application will be submitted in due course.
The bid for the Sport England cash has been administered via Leeds City Council. A council report said: “Pudsey Leisure Centre is currently undergoing energy improvement works through the council’s decarbonisation scheme, and these additional works will enhance the [improvements] further.
“The impact of accepting the grant from Sport England will help to improve energy efficiency at both Pudsey Leisure Centre and Bramley Baths to help reduce energy consumption of the building and in particular the swimming pools, which are the main drain on energy use at the sites.
“Reducing the consumption of utilities namely through gas and electricity in heating the pools will help to lower the operation cost of the buildings and importantly help towards the council’s ‘net zero carbon’ target.”
The money needs to be spent by the end of March 2025.
Bramley Baths is currently operated by Bramley Baths Community Ltd with a long-term lease, however the building is still owned by Leeds City Council
Edwardian Grade II Listed Bramley Baths is at the heart of the community.
Sponsored content
Bramley Baths is hosting an emergency first aid at work course at its Edwardian Grade II Listed building, which is open to anyone to book onto.
It’s open to people who want to upskill, or gain knowledge on what to do in an emergency etc. The course is fully accredited and regulated by a governing body, so can be used on CVs and within work places. The price is highly subsidised at £75 per candidate (the going rate is around £150, from Red Cross).
The course includes:
PR and how to use a defibrillator
What to do upon discovering an unconscious casualty
Choking
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Fractures or breaking of bones
Plus other injuries
The event runs on Saturday, 11 May, 9am to 3pm, at the Baths.
Participants are asked too book ideally by the end of next week (Friday, 3 May), so organisers can prepare the necessary paperwork.
A Bramley woman who sexually abused a young boy and shared images of the incidents has been jailed following an investigation by specialist safeguarding officers.
Emily Hedigan, aged 21, of Broadlea Grove, pleaded guilty to eight offences when she appeared at Leeds Crown Court on February 29.
She was convicted of offences of causing or inciting a boy under 13 to engage in sexual activity, sexual touching of a boy aged under 13, taking, making and distributing indecent images of a child, and possession of cocaine.
Police were alerted on January 29 this year after a person obtained Hedigan’s mobile phone and found images of the boy on it. She was arrested and her phone was examined by expert digital forensic investigators who recovered video and still images of her sexually abusing the child on a number of occasions.
Further work by digital media investigators established that Hedigan had been sending the images to a man elsewhere in the country in exchange for money.
She admitted the offences when interviewed but claimed she had been providing the images under duress. She was jailed for four years and eight months at Leeds Crown Court yesterday.
She will remain on the Sex Offenders Register for life and was also given a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Detective Inspector Amy Spaven, of Leeds District Safeguarding Unit, said: “Hedigan was responsible for a sustained pattern of sexual abuse against this vulnerable young boy and shared images of that abuse for financial gain. Her actions will have had a significant traumatic impact on the victim that is likely to affect him for the rest of his life.
“We hope that seeing her held accountable and sent to prison will provide some reassurance. We always treat sexual offences of this nature very seriously and have specialist safeguarding officers who will support victims and their families throughout their investigations and the court process and do everything they can to get justice for them.”
It was another win-win double for Bramley Buffaloes as the first team travelled to Dodworth Miners and came away with an impressive 31-12 victory, while the second team visited and defeated Ossett Trinity Tigers 40-24 on Friday night.
The Buffaloes playing in confident mood and buoyed by the return of Omar Al-Rawi after a decade long stint with NCL Premiership side Hunslet, led 10-6 at half time following tries by Butterworth and McFarlane and a goal by Connor McGill.
The second half saw Bramley move up a couple of gears to add two tries each from Al-Rawi and Jordan Wilson. McGill added another two goals and finished the scoring with a last-minute drop-goal. A full match report can be read here.
Yorkshire men’s league result
Birstall Victoria 22 York Acorn 18
After the second week of the season the Buffaloes sit on top of Division Three with two wins from two. Only Birstall Victoria have the other 100% record in the league with Wyke still to play any fixtures.
This week’s opponents
The second consecutive away match sees the Buffaloes travel to play Elland/Greatland, who lost their previous game 4-16 when they entertained Dodsworth Miners. They will be looking to kick-start their season against a Buffaloes outfit who have followed last season’s championship winning form into division three with confidence and flair to begin a perfect start to the 2024 season.
Farsley Celtic Deaf are in the semi finals of the Deaf Champions League.
Farsley Celtic Deaf have reached the semi finals of the Deaf Champions’ League in Greece.
The Celts, one of the top deaf teams in the UK, beat Reims 2-1 in Athens today thanks to goals from Palmer and Carey. Farsley moved a step closer to the ultimate prize in deaf football thanks to a strong defensive performance.
Tomorrow (Friday) they play Greek side and five-times European champions Pok Athens in the semi final, with a 9am kick off. The match will be streamed live on YouTube.
After an opening game defeat against P.O.A.K.M Tripoli, The Celts’ are unbeaten and secured a creditable 0-0 draw against last year’s champions Paris.
Ten Farsley Celtic Deaf players have been selected for the England Deaf men’s squad for this year’s European championships. A club spokesperson said: “We are immensely proud of all of you and wish you, the team and staff all the very best. We know how hard you work for club and country.”
Inspirational West Leeds Leeds women are among those celebrated in a new sculpture at the heart of the city’s cultural quarter.
Created by artist, Pippa Hale, ‘Ribbons’ nearly 400 women from across the city will be celebrated on the new public sculpture at the top of the gardens between Leeds City College’s Quarry Hill campus and Leeds Playhouse at the gateway to the SOYO development at Quarry Hill, from July.
The women have all been nominated by members of the public.
Developed by Leeds West MP Rachel Reeves, and led by Leeds Arts University in partnership with Leeds City Council and Leeds City College, the project aims to celebrate women past and present who have contributed to the city.
The sculpture is comprised of five corten steel ribbons each carrying the names of nominated Leeds women.
As they rise up out of the ground they become intertwined, tied together over space and time in a celebration of womanhood that is embedded into the fabric of the city. The structure appears to swirl and flutter, creating flowing patterns that dance and contrast with the geometry of the surrounding buildings at Quarry Hill.
Pippa Hale.
Artist Pippa Hale, who also designed the Bridge Sculpture at Belgrave Retail Park in Stanningley, said: “Reading through the nominations, I have been humbled by their stories and moved by their incredible journeys: from women who have broken glass ceilings and overcome cultural, social, economic and physical barriers to rise to the top of their professions, to those who fly beneath the radar and whose contribution is neither seen nor recognised publicly.
“‘Ribbons’ is a massive thank you to all of them whose love, friendship, commitment, passion and dedication impact our lives every day.”
Leeds West MP Rachel Reeves said: “I am so proud to be part of this amazing project. This sculpture is a chance to honour inspiring women from all walks of life, and celebrate the achievements of the many women who have made Leeds the wonderful city it is today.
“After launching this project several years ago, it’s incredibly exciting to be that much closer to seeing Pippa’s amazing vision come to life. It will be wonderful to see the names of those individual struggles and accomplishments represented in this way, for them to stand as an example of inclusion and progress for future generations.”
Alongside well-known names such as Armley’s Barbara Taylor-Bradford, the sculpture also pays homage to the unsung heroes of the city and those who have dedicated their lives to helping others.
Women who live or work in West Leeds who have been included in the list include:
The late Denise Atkinson MBE, who represented Bramley as a councillor over four decades.
Burley singer Corinne Bailey-Rae.
Irene Bashan, an inspirational teacher and Headteacher at Fairfield infants Farsley (1980s).
Emma Bearman, of Pudsey, is the founder of Culture Vulture blog and Playful Anywhere, which promotes play for everybody, regardless of age, background or wealth.
Lisa Farrar dedicates her time keeping the streets of Pudsey.
Melanie Brown, singer
Margaret Cliff (1923-1993), former County Councillor for Bramley and Stanningley.
Violet Mary Crowther (1884 – 1969) was a pioneering museum curator at the Abbey House Museum in Kirkstall for more than two decades retiring in 1949.
Jane Earnshaw, who ran the I Love West Leeds Festival.
Lorraine Fearnley works at Crawshaw Academy supporting school children and six form pupils with severe learning difficulties and disabilities.
Mary Gawthorpe (1881 – 1973) Bramley socialist and suffragette.
Norah Gibson, founder of West Leeds Debt Forum in 2004. Norah also holds various church positions including Secretary of Churches Together LS13 and establishing interfaith work resulting in the Lights for Leeds events at Kirkstall Abbey.
Jayne Greensill is the founder of Jayne’s Joggers and chairperson of Pudsey Runners.
Diane Harkness is an asset to her community, especially in her support for Stanningley Albion Junior football club.
Ailith Harley-Roberts, co-founder and Service Manager at Sunshine and Smiles – Leeds Down Syndrome Network. Swimming sessions are held at Bramley Baths.
Jan Holdstock (1940-2017) was a musician, a gifted lyricist and a noted composer of music for young people. She was a senior lecturer in music, at first at the James Graham College in Farnley, and later at Beckett Park.
Jean Hollings is a retired nurse and community health visitor. Event director for Bramley parkrun and regular volunteer at charity sporting events in the district.
Sue Ingle is currently a consultant for Stanningley Slimming World Group. Sue also organises an annual event on Boxing Day for 30 elderly and isolated people.
Olive Jakusz (1919-1999), Headteacher Burley St Matthias Infants where she worked for 14 years, retiring in 1979. Olive taught thousands of inner-city Leeds children in a career spanning 40 years.
Sue Jennings is Director at Left Bank Leeds and has been a resident in Leeds her entire life.
Manjit Kaur, founder of Manjit’s Kitchen, a food truck that sold vegetarian Indian food, and moved to Kirkgate Market in 2016. She currently runs a restaurant on Kirkstall Road.
Alison Lowe is a British Labour politician. She was the first black woman Leeds city councillor, serving Armley Ward from 1990 to 2019.
Vicky Milner, runs Stanningley Albion under 13’s football. Sue also fundraises and contributes greatly to the community.
Lucy Moore, Project Curator at Leeds Museums and Galleries with a passion for uplifting and ensuring the voices of marginalised communities have their stories told.
Kate Moree is co-founder of Seagulls Reuse, an environmental social enterprise on Kirkstall Road.
Angela Morely (1924-2009) was a Kirkstall Road-born composer, she was the first openly transgender woman to be nominated for an Oscar and won three Emmy awards for her work in music arrangement.
Dawn Newsome is CEO of Armley Helping Hands, an organisation supporting older people.
Alice Nutter (born Anne Holden, 1962) is a musician, singer-songwriter, activist and playwright. Founding member of Armley rock band, Chumbawumba.
Pat Oddy (1933-2018), founder member and Lifetime President for Hawksworth Older People’s Support. She was Lady Mayoress, set up community associations, worked as a neighbourhood warden and served on school committees in the local area.
Janet Page, a member of Leeds Amateur Operatic Society and working backstage utilising her skills as a professional barber. She is a member of Farsley in Bloom and a foodbank volunteer.
Cat Pearon is co-founder of Seagulls Reuse, an environmental social enterprise off Kirkstall Road.
Barbara Ratcliffe (1927 – 2003) One of the few lady publicans working with Joshua Tetley & Son Ltd. Barbara forged her way in a male dominated environment and managed several pubs in the city including The Oddfellows (Melbourne Pubs) in Kirkstall and Tetley’s flagship pub, The Ancestor (on Armley Ridge Road, Leeds) in the 1960s.
Rachel Reeves (born 1979) is Labour MP for Leeds West and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Andrea Selkirk works as a Sessional Youth Worker at Cardigan Centre, which facilitates social welfare, recreation, education and economic regeneration.
Linda Stansbie was the teacher in residence at Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills for nearly 20 years.
Barbara Taylor Bradford OBE (born 1933 in Armley) is a best-selling author.
Shackleton's headstone in Pudsey Cemetery. Photo: Damon Sugden
A remembrance poppy dedicated to the life of a Pudsey soldier, retraces his journey across the oceans and finally comes home, writes Damon Sugden.
Today is ANZAC Day, observed on April 25 each year, and is a day of remembrance, honouring the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who served and died in all wars, and peacekeeping operations.
The tradition began in 1916 to commemorate the allied landings at Gallipoli, Turkey, during World War I – a campaign that marked the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during that war. This day of reflection not only recognises the sacrifices of the ANZAC forces but also symbolises the birth of national consciousness for both nations.
47th Survivors – Australian War Memorial
ANZAC Day holds relevance even thousands of miles away here in the UK, where many people have ties to relatives who served in the ANZAC forces. It serves as a reminder of the enduring bonds forged through shared experiences in wartime, bridging continents and generations. This makes ANZAC Day not just a national day of remembrance but an international one, connecting communities around the world.
Sometimes those enduring bonds are lost, but like a boomerang can come home unexpectedly out of the blue. One of those connections is to a young man called Richard Shackleton, who is named on Pudsey Cenotaph and has a poignant family memorial in Pudsey Cemetery, but is also remembered in Australia.
I’m a keen researcher of both Pudsey’s magnificent cenotaph and cemetery, and have recently been looking into the lives of our local lads who served and died with ANZAC forces in WW1.
It was a pleasant surprise to receive a gift from Australia connected to one of them; Skip, who lives in Perth, Western Australia had acquired via donation an ANZAC Poppy dedicated to Sergeant Richard Shackleton, late of Pudsey. Skip generously sent the Poppy home to the UK to be reunited with Richard’s modern family. There is a twist to this tale, but first let us look at the young man’s life that we are remembering today, April 25th 2024.
Born 1896 in Chorley, Richard was the second son of William and Mary Shackleton of Craven House, Pudsey. Hailing from Dewsbury, the family had moved to Pudsey so that architect William Shackleton could complete the impressive new Trinity Chapel that opened at the top of Lowtown in 1899.
The family stayed in Pudsey and made many friends here, and William would go onto make many more contributions to the Town, not least the design of the distinctive Pudsey Borough coat of arms, and the architecture of the Pudsey Picture House cinema. The family were distant relations of and also knew the remarkable Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton.
William and Mary had three children – Catherine, and sons John and Richard who both emigrated to Australia before 1914.
By the time he was 17, Richard was 5 foot 3 inches tall with brown hair and blue eyes and contemplating what to do with his life. He emigrated to Australia in November 1913 to meet up with his older brother John. A very capable young man from a capable family, he settled well at Butterfield Street, Herston, in Brisbane working as an engineer.
His next move may have been inspired by heroic tales of ANZAC exploits on the Gallipoli peninsula, which started on 25 April 1915 with an amphibious landing, but got bogged down above the beaches. Richard enlisted in the Australian Army on the 6th July 1915 at Brisbane, as a cadet engineer, having been in Australia only for 1 year and 7 months. He was given the Service number 2840.
After training, Richard was deployed to the Middle East and arrived at Zeitoun, Lebanon 31 Oct 1915 but was delayed and missed his train. He finally met up with the 15th Battalion Australian Infantry Forces at the Ismaelia canal, after a long journey to Egypt lasting 69 days. Conditions were really poor and Richard reports sick to hospital on 30th January. By the 3 March he has transferred to his final unit – C company of the 47th Btn AIF, who are training on reserve for the Sanai campaign.
The idea was for the Aussies to defend the vital Suez canal and drive off any Turkish incursions. For a while they were based at Tel-El-Kebir village, described by one Australian soldier as “a very dirty little place with a few dirty shops in it”. By coincidence the Leeds and the Bradford Pals were also in the same region at the same time, with the same orders.
Two months later Richard is honoured to be promoted to Corporal. Then instead of heading off to fight the Turks, the 47th board the Caledonia and sail from Alexandria to Marseilles. No more games of cricket in the desert – its time to face the Germans.
Landing in France on 9th June 1916, Richard is again twice promoted as NCO to Sergeant, then acting Colour Sergeant Major, as his unit finds itself in the worst of the fighting on the Somme.
For a young man from Pudsey who had only been an Australian for a short time, being made up to Colour Sergeant Major – a senior NCO in the Battalion shows he had a lot of respect from his peers and the experienced Battalion officers.
Richard continues to fight on the Somme at both Pozieres, and the Australian’s brave but futile attacks on Mouquet Farm during August and September 1916.
Then out of the blue, having survived the worst of those battles intact, he is hit by a bullet in the back, probably from a sniper on 15th November. He was triaged via the 38th Casualty Clearing Station and evacuated to England aboard the HS Asturias. Then admitted on 21 November, to 1st Western General Hospital in Fazakerley, Liverpool, for now, in safe hands.
Richard was discharged 30th December, and granted furlough for 2 weeks (I don’t know for sure, but I hope he returned home to visit his parents and sister), then reported to Perham Downs Camp on Salisbury Plain 16th January 1917. Not getting much of a break from the action, he is still needed and sails back to France on the SS Invicta from Folkestone and re-joins his unit on the 7 March.
In April of 1917 the 47th were trapped and almost surrounded at the first battle of Bullecourt. Richard survived another hazardous encounter, and was fighting alongside other Pudsey men who were members of the British Army’s 62nd (Territorial) Division, including the 2nd /7th & 8thLeeds Rifles Battalions, and Bradford and Guiseley Terriers.
Things were about to get more intense for Richard and the Aussies, as a massive attack was planned to uproot the Germans from Belgium during the Summer of 1917, using the biggest man made explosions in history…
In the early hours of 7th June, the German trenches were destroyed by the detonation of huge mines at the launch of the Battle of Messines. Approximately 10,000 German troops died in the opening minutes clearing a path for advancing British and Australian troops to move into. It is said that the explosions were so loud that they could be heard in London.
Sadly this is where Richard’s journey ends. He was killed in action some time that day, and buried by his mates close to where he fell. Exhaustive searches were later made to relocate his grave, originally reported 1 mile East of Messines, without any luck.
The surviving members of the 47th Battalion are pictured here in 1918, some of these men would have served with Sergeant Richard Shackleton.
Richard is now remembered on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial Panel 7, the family grave in Pudsey Cemetery, on Pudsey Cenotaph, and in spirit on his ANZAC Poppy – now proudly back home in Pudsey.
Since I received that Poppy, I have managed to trace Richard’s closest family, not in Pudsey but still out in Brisbane. They keep his memory alive along with those of his father William, mother Mary, sister Catherine, and brother John. Their family archive is extensive and I hope one day to share more interesting stories of the Shackletons of Pudsey.
I’m interested to know if anyone has any stories to share about ANZAC relatives – there must be a few more in the West Leeds area.
Updates to this story and more information about Pudsey’s military history can be found here.
Lest we forget.
With thanks to Skip and Peter over in Oz for keeping their memories alive.
