|
The youngest member of the Jarrow Marches in 1936 |
John
William Farndale “Newcastle Johnny” 5 March 1919 to April 1986
FAR00854
|
|
Headlines
of John Farndale’s life are in brown.
Dates
are in red.
Hyperlinks
to other pages are in dark
blue.
References
and citations are in turquoise.
Context
and local history are in purple.
Geographical context is in green.
With many thanks to Donna, Johnny’s granddaughter, who has
helped me tell Johnny’s story and provided some photographs.
Jarrow
1919
John William Farndale, son of John
Willie and Elizabeth (nee Todd) Farndale (FAR00591), was born in Jarrow on Tyne (census)
on 5 March 1919 (1939
Register). His birth was registered in South Shields District in the
second quarter of 1919 (GRO Vol 10A Page 1318).
1921
He was living with his parents and six siblings in Jarrow in
1921.
1921
census
– Jarrow
John Farndale, 36, born
Barrow in Furness in 1883, labourer
Elizabeth Farndale, 35, born
South Shields
Joseph Farndale, 14, no
occupation, born Jarrow in 1907
Elizabeth Farndale, 11, born
Jarrow in 1910, at school
James Farndale, 9, born
Jarrow in about 1912
Margaret Farndale, 4, born
Jarrow on Tyne in about 1917
John W Farndale, 2, born Jarrow on Tyne in
about 1919
George Farndale, 3 months,
born Jarrow on Tyne in 1921
1936
The
Jarrow Marches, 5 to 31 October 1936
John was the youngest member of the 185 men who set off on the Jarrow
marches in October 1936.
Although the First World
War caused an economic boom in Britain, it masked a slow industrial decline from
the country's Victorian heyday. As wartime demands gradually fell away, these
failings again came to the fore and during 1920 Britain was plunged into an
economic slump accompanied by high levels of unemployment and poverty. The
situation was made far worse by the world-wide recession of 1929 and, having remained relatively constant, though high, at
10% throughout the 1920's, unemployment peaked at 22% in 1932.
Britain's traditional
industries were particularly hard hit meaning that the North of England, Wales
and Scotland, which had economies heavily dependent upon manufacturing, were
disproportionately affected by the slump. This meant that these regions actually suffered far higher levels of unemployment than
those suggested by the national average. And the effects were long-lasting,
rather than following a regular economic cycle of prosperity and recession.
During the 1920's, the National
Unemployed Workers' Movement (“NUWM”) organised a serious of 'hunger
marches' to London in the hope that these would force the Government to
radically rethink its economic policies. The term 'hunger march' was a recent
one, first coined to describe a march by London's poor in 1908. The marches
achieved nothing, however, the official view being that they were being high-jacked to serve the aims of their 'Communist'
organisers.
The end of the world-wide
recession in 1932 allowed Britain to begin a slow path to recovery. By 1936,
economic growth had reached 4% and mini-booms were
being seen in housing and consumer spending. The recovery was badly uneven,
however, with those areas which had seen their traditional employers devastated
during the slump slow to see any improvement.
The town of Jarrow, lying
on the southern bank of the River Tyne, had undergone a massive period of
expansion during the Victorian era. However its
economy was based on precisely those industries - iron, steel, shipbuilding -
which were so badly hit by the recent depression. Charles Mark Palmer, the
so-called 'King of Jarrow', had created an industrial empire in the town but
gradually each of these businesses failed in turn. Unemployment stood at 3,300
in 1930 (75% of the working population) and at 6,793 in 1932 (80% of the
insured population). When Palmer's Shipyard failed in 1934, the town lost its
last purpose for existing. As the town's newly elected MP, the firebrand 'Red
Ellen' Wilkinson, so forcefully pointed out in the Commons in December,1935: "The
years go on and nothing is done ... this is a desperately urgent matter and
something should be done to get work to these areas which, heaven knows, want
work."
The hunger-march had
become an accepted form of protest and in July 1936 the town's political
leaders set in progress plans to mount a march from Jarrow to deliver a
petition to Parliament calling for the opportunity to work. Over 1,200 men came
forward to take part, but it was decided to limit numbers to the 200 fittest
and hardiest to make the logistics manageable. A fund was started to pay for
supplies and equipment and this would continue to
collect donations as the men marched south. Rallies were scheduled for the
march's overnight stops to spread the word of what it was trying to achieve. As
one marcher put it: "We were more or less missionaries of the
distressed areas, [not just] Jarrow."
On Monday 5 October 1936,
the date set for the start of the March, the Marchers received the blessing of
the Bishop of Jarrow at a dedication service in Christ Church. This gained the
venture a boost in credibility, but the service was condemned by Hensley
Henson, the Bishop of Durham, who was unflinchingly opposed to the Trades Union
movement and Socialism. Henson condemned the hunger marches as
a whole as nothing but a vehicle for the Labour Party and his colleague
in Jarrow, James Gordon, was later obliged to state that the service was not
intended to condone the March. To add injury to insult, the Marchers later
discovered that their dole had been stopped as the March had made them
unavailable for work!
Immediately after the
service, the Marchers assembled at Jarrow Town Hall and made their last
preparations before setting off. Although 200 men had been accepted for the
venture, only 185 made it to the start-line due to sickness, changes in
personal circumstance, etc. Around half of those taking part were veterans of
the First World War and the Marchers walked in step and in military ranks to
show their discipline and proclaim their past service. They took a 10-minute
break every hour, in the military manner, and a harmonica band encouraged the
singing of popular songs of the day to keep their spirits up. Before them they
carried a blue-and-white banner proclaiming the ‘Jarrow Crusade’ though in
Jarrow it was never known as anything other than ‘The March’. Again in the military tradition, behind them followed a bus
with a field kitchen, a medical facility, and camping equipment for when beds
were not available.
It would be a mistake to
think that the Jarrow March took place in isolation. The sixth National Hunger
March was setting off from 6 regional centres and these were due to unite in
London a week after the arrival of the Jarrow men. Meanwhile, a group of blind
veterans were marching in protest at the treatment of the nation’s 67,000
registered blind persons. The National Marches were seen as hostile and
confrontational, and this undoubtedly aided the high level of publicity given
to the Jarrow March which, by contrast, was recognised for its moderation and
quiet dignity.
Ellen Wilkinson
temporarily left the march at its first stopping point, in Chester-le-Street,
to attend the Labour Party's annual conference in Edinburgh. Although it was
proclaimed to be non-political, the Jarrow March was very much a product of the
town’s Labour Council and she may have hoped to gain
some support from her colleagues. In this she was to be disappointed, however.
The Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) was a minority part of the National
Government of the time and anxious to distance itself from any accusations of
‘Communism’. So, neither this nor the Trade Union Congress (TUC) would offer
its endorsement. David Riley, the Chairman of Jarrow Borough Council and a
leading light in the organisation of the March, later complained that they felt
that they had been "stabbed in the back".
As they moved south, the
reception extended to the Marchers varied from indifferent to warm and
welcoming. Local accommodation was secured in a series of Schools, Church Halls
or other spacious buildings, and often gifts were made of food and clean clothing.
What soon became clear was that the reception received bore no link to the
political affiliation of the local Councils and the organisers of the March
were at pains to avoid any action that might alienate any political body. Often
the weather was bad, cold with driving rain.
Very quickly the March
began attracting wide publicity and the Government in London, afraid that it
was gaining Royal attention, acted to limit sympathy for it, claiming that such
Marches only resulted in “unnecessary hardship for those taking part in them”.
Wilkinson continued to push for an official reception for the Marchers, but received no encouragement from Prime Minister
Stanley Baldwin during heated exchanges in the Commons. In truth Baldwin was in
an impossible position, for opening Parliament’s doors to the Jarrow Marchers
would have set a dangerous precedent.
The March reached Edgware
in northern London on Friday, 30 October, leaving a relatively short 8-mile
walk to Marble Arch the following day. It had been denied permission to deliver
its petition to Parliament and so Ellen Wilkinson had to make the last stage of
the journey alone. The original petition, calling for Government aid for the
Town, had 11,000 signatures and was carried in an oak box. An additional
petition had been made available to those who had wanted to sign on the way.
A new session in the House
of Commons was convened on 3 November – the March had been timetabled to take
advantage of this – and next day the Petition was presented. A (very) brief
discussion followed after which the House returned to
its normal business.
The March garnered a lot
of publicity, a lot of soft words, but achieved little real change. This was
not lost on the marchers themselves and the return journey home by train was a
sombre affair.
Not until the outbreak of the
Second World War in 1939 did the Town start to recover from its long period of
depression. When ‘Red Ellen’ published her history of Jarrow that same year she
titled it: "The Town that was Murdered.
Leicester
Evening Mail 21 October 1936: AGE AND YOUTH. Boer War
veteran George Smith, aged 61, and 18 year old John
Farndale, the oldest and youngest member of the Jarrow band of workers.
George Smith, the oldest marcher, examines the boots of the
youngest marcher, John Farndale.
Hartlepool Northern Daily
Mail, 5 November 1936: JARROW MARCHERS RETURN IN SPECIAL TRAIN FROM LONDON. Hundreds
of people watched the departure of the special train containing the Jarrow
Marchers from Kings Cross station today. Mr P Malcolm Stewart, formerly
Commissioner for Distressed Areas, said goodbye to them, and
also on the platform was Miss Ellen Wilkinson MP, who had been with the
men during their crusade, and who presented the petition in the House of
Commons. The men expressed disappointment at the reception of their petition, but
were gratified at the general attitude of people in London towards them.
Alderman J W Thompson, Mayor of Jarrow, who returned with the men, said to a
Press Association reporter: “It was as I expected. I cannot say that I am
disappointed at the way the petition was received, but I feel now that the
people in the South have a more intimate knowledge of our plight in Jarrow,
and from that I expect some result.” One of the marches, John Farndale, of
Clyde Rd, Jared, has taken a job as a baker's assistant in London, and
another, Thomas Dobson, of Stanley Street, Jarrow, is staying at Hendon Cottage
Hospital for a few days for treatment before returning.
Long Road from Jarrow: a journey through Britain then and
now, 2017, Stuart Maconie: “[In the South Shields Museum] There is a sweet
picture of the oldest and youngest marchers: John Farndale who at 18 had worked
two weeks since leaving school at 14 and Geordie Smith, 62, a veteran of the
Boer War.” (p41) and “The youngest marcher never came back.
John Farndale stayed in London to work as a baker’s assistant.” (p349) In fact this is
not quite right, as although Johnny did stay as a while as a baker’s assistant,
he soon returned to Newcastle.
Then
and Now Jarrow, Paul Perry, 1999 is a pictorial history of Jarrow.
The novels The Jarrow Lass by Janet Macleod Trotter, 2001, Return to Jarrow, Janet Macleod Trotter, 2004, and A Child of Jarrow, Janet MacLeod Trotter, 2011, tell of Catherine
Cookson’s grandmother in Jarrow at that time.
See also The Town that was Murdered, the Life Story of Jarrow,
Ellen Wilkinson, 1939, especially pages 191 to 213.
J’Accuse, the Autobiography of a headteacher in Jarrow 1934 to
1963, Claude Robinson, 1986, especially p60 to p66.
London
John worked as a baker’s assistant in London for a period of time
(see above).
Gateshead
However he returned to Gateshead.
He was a successful bare knuckle fighter and came to
be known as Newcastle Johnny.
1939
1939 Register – 9 Ross Avenue,
Gateshead
John Farndale, born 5 March 1919, single, public works labourer
Johnny was a rag and bone man for a time.
1961
There is an article about him in the Gateshead Post, 4 August 1961 when he lived at Westmorland
Road, Newcastle. There are other articles in the 60s.
Newcastle
upon Tyne
1947
John William Farndale, married Catherine Slater in the third quarter of 1947
at Newcastle Upon Tyne District (MR).
When he married Catherine she
already had 2 children to previous marriages which Johnny took on as his own.
1951
Raymond Farndale (FAR01050)
was born in 1951 (BR).
He always had a little something for his grandchildren when
they visited.
1986
John William Farndale, born 5 March 1919, died Newcastle in April 1986 (DR).