Hawes Gala

Saturday 27th June 2009

HAWES GALA – THE EARLY YEARS

 

On June 23^rd 2008 the 40^th Hawes Gala will be recognised with a ‘ruby’ celebration.  But how did Hawes Gala come into being? Whose idea was it and what did the first few Gala’s look like?

 

Well back in 1967 there was an annual Hawes Sports Day but it was an event for the adult male population and the bookmakers, consisting of Trotting races, motorcycle races and a Fell Race up Staggs Fell.  Some of the ‘Dads’ felt that it would also be a good idea to have an annual event for the kids and following several informal discussions outside the school gates a meeting was arranged for all interested parties and the first Gala Committee was formed.

 

Some of the early Committee members were Chris Heseltine, Derek Ramsden, Roger Stott, Alan Dinsdale, Derek Ellis, Keith Calvert, Dennis Fawcett, Harry Airey and Harry Hanson.  Margaret Ward who was the Secretary for seven years was the only female member in the early years. Perhaps the man most deserving of the title of ‘Mr Gala’ was the late Frank Iveson.  Frank was the Gala Chairman for the first twelve years and dedicated a great deal of his time and effort in ensuring the Gala’s success. The Committee meetings were held in the member’s own houses and the visit to Harry Airey’s house were fondly remembered as Jean Airey used to provide the meeting with a generous quantity of her wonderful Scottish Pancakes and Bannocks.

 

It was agreed that the two major elements of the Gala Day would be Children’s races and a Fancy Dress Competition. They required prizes and prizes required cash so the first task for the Committee was to organise door-to-door collections around the whole of the Upper Dales advising folks of the plans and seeking donations.  Derek Ramsden remembers that this massive undertaking raised £156 - a not inconsiderable sum for 1967.

 

Prize funding secured, the Committee now turned their attention to the sideshows and Gala promotion.  In order to reserve the’cash’ for prizes it was decided that everything  needed would be made by the local volunteers rather than ‘bought in’.  Side-stalls and signs were designed, constructed and painted and even the bunting was home-made.  Cheese-cloths were obtained from the dairy, cut into shapes and dyed in several vats and hung out to dry on Derek Ramsden’s washing line, resembling as some neighbours commented ‘a year’s supply of knickers’.

 

In subsequent years the group built a huge children’s slide and the wonderful swingboats still used up to the present day.  It was decided to organise some events for the Main Street and someone came up with the idea of a Roman Chariot race with a difference - the chariots would be pulled, not by horses, but by goats.  The chariots were designed and built so as to hide the Charioteer’s legs (which were actually the main source of propulsion) with shafts and harnesses for the goats.  These proved a great success on the day with the goats being encouraged to proceed in the correct direction by someone walking in front with a supply of carrots – which worked for some goats but not for others!

 

The early Galas were held on the field across the road from the School and preparation usually began about four days earlier with an army of volunteers removing cow-pats from the field. Thomas Raw brought his new ‘sit-on’ mower along to cut the grass and then the work could begin to erect the stalls and bunting.  The Committee had help from many other locals in these early days as the Gala turned into a true community event.

 

Hawes Silver Band were an ever-present from year one and led the Fancy Dress Parade through the town.  The Gala Queen rode in Kit Calvert’s Irish Jaunting Cart pulled by his black & white horse Dolly, with Kit dressed in his top hat and waistcoat.

 

The first occurrence of a ‘guest band’ resulted from a phone-call that Chris Heseltine received from an Officer at Catterick Garrison.  He said he needed to organise an event to give his men a ‘day-out’ from the barracks and could they come and play at the Gala – free of charge!

 

On the Gala Day a full Scottish Regimental Band turned up and marched down the High Street – the like of which had never been seen in Hawes before and the memory still brings lumps to the throats of those who saw it.  The band were treated to tea in the Market Hall, courtesy of Mrs Worth and the W.I. but required no funding or expenses.

 

Mr Sootheran, the Midland Bank Manager, became the Gala Treasurer and used to sit all afternoon in his little wooden pay kiosk on the field.  Prize-winners were given tickets and then had to go up to the kiosk to collect their prize-money from Mr Sootheran.  All children were given a picnic box and a glass of ‘pop’.

 

Committee member Keith Calvert was the original ‘mike man’ and in subsequent years this task was taken on by Derek Neville, the school headmaster, who had the advantage of knowing the name of every local child on the field.

 

Some of the early Gala activities included Donkey Rides for the kids, bed-pushing up a steep hill, egg-throwing, shovelling 1 cwt of coal through a hole and a competition to see who could peel an apple with the longest unbroken strip of peel.  Originally there was a ‘bonny-baby’ competition but it was dropped after some ‘non-winners’ took umbridge at the judges decisions.

 

One of the early events was a piano smashing competition in which up to six teams had to break up a piano into pieces small enough to pass through a small hoop.  Surprisingly there seemed to be no problem acquiring six pianos a year to be smashed up!.  Another popular event was a challenge to the young men of the town to ‘bag’ a piglet that had been covered in lard. It would not be approved of today but was a source of great entertainment at the time.

 

The early Galas always ended with a ‘Gala Ball’ held in the Market Hall at which the following year’s Gala Queen would be selected.