2nd November 2023

Major Update: Added WW1 biographies for Frank Clagget Caird; Arthur Downing; Arthur Giles; John William Hall; Edwin Longley; Thomas Newton; John Henry Sheldrake; Ernest Vernon; Edwin Mason White and Alfred Williamson.

Added WW2 biographies for Edward Hirst; Cyril George Perrie and Walter Sampson Poskitt.

These names were quietly added to the Ossett War Memorial in October 2023 together with WW1 casualties Samuel Kirkwood Gothard; Charlie Raven and Percy Summerscales who had been omitted previously.

16 names were added to the Ossett War Memorial. These biographies are the original research of Stephen Wilson with some additional help from Anne-Marie Fawcett and will no doubt be plagiarised. You know who you are Yorkshire Shit!

26th February 2023

Added WW1 biographies for George Henry Beever and William Henry Thompson who as yet is not remembered on the Ossett War Memorial. Also updated and corrected the WW1 biography for Joseph Fothergill Wilson with new information.

6th March 2023 added new WW1 biographies for Stephen Cannon and George Glew.

9th March 2023 added new WW1 biography for Alma Illingworth.

17th March 2023 added WW2 biography for Frank Wilkinson Cook, M.C., M.B.E. under WW2 Medal Winners.

18th March 2023 added new WW1 biographies for brothers Benjamin Malpass and Edward Malpass.

24th March 2023 added new WW1 biography for George Thomas Rothery.

26th March 2023 added Green Park noticeboard page, which is accessed by QR code at Green Park.

6th April 2023 added new WW1 biographies for brothers Charlie Raven and George Frederick Raven.

7th April 2023 added new WW1 biography for Dorothy May Raven the younger sister of Charlie Raven and George Frederick Raven above.

30th November 2022

Major Update. Added new section Southdale Junior School, Ossett, WW1 Stories by Year 6 pupils describing how the children imagined life was like in the WW1 trenches.

Added WW1 biography for Percy Summerscales who lived in Ossett and after emigrating to Australia, died in WW1 at Gallipoli. His name has been submitted for inclusion on the Ossett War Memorial. Also added new WW1 biography for Edward Clemenson who as yet is not remembered on the Ossett War Memorial.

Added new information in the Gawthorpe section about the Gawthorpe Zion Church and the Manse courtesy of Peter Rockcliffe.

12th March 2022

Added new biographies for WW1 and WW2 men who were either born or lived in Ossett, but lost their lives serving their country and whose names have been submitted for inclusion on the Ossett War Memorial as follows:

WW1 - Charles H. Almond, Fred Asquith, Percy Dickens, Samuel K. Gothard, Thomas Grady, James E. Hartill, William I. S. Hartley, Harry Pickersgill, John H. Richmond, Herbert S. Scott, Newman Summerscales and Charles Robert Wilkinson

WW2 - Leonard Cobbett, Bertie Percy Dickens, Samuel Long, Benjamin Oldroyd and Ernest Smales

In addition a biography has been added for WW1 Military Medal Winner - Joseph Charlesworth

2nd May 2020

Major Update. Added new section Kids Corner with some Ossett local history in a less verbose style intended for primary school children.

11th October 2019

Added new section about history and subsequent conversion to housing of the Storrs Hill Isolation Hospital written by Ossett historian Neville Ashby included as part of the Ossett Houses section. Also added two new WW1 biographies for Ossett VAD Nurses: Clara Renshaw and Dorothy Pollard.

10th September 2019

Major Update. Added new section Ossett Virtual Blue Plaque Project with details of the locations in Ossett where a real Blue Plaque might be placed in the future. Already some progress has been made by Ossett Civic Trust to install Ossett's first Blue Plaque on the Town Hall.

9th May 2019

Added the story of Gawthorpe born commercial artist and WW1 war hero Horace Brooke to the "Ossett People" page. Also Horace Brooke's WW1 service and the award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal. Added the only known picture of Ossett double murderess Louie Calvert to the "Ossett People" page. Completed David Scriven's look at Ossett during the WW1 years up to 1919 and the aftermath of WW1. Several additional WW1 and WW2 biographies added, including Sydney Beauchamp, John W. Byram, Albert Posliff and George Alfred Bastey.

8th June 2017

Added David Scriven's latest look at Ossett during the WW1 years for the months of July to December 1917. Added rare picture of Flight Lieutenant H.L. Taylor at the scene of the WW1 Ossett air crash in 1918. Added new section about the Harrops of Rock House, Horbury and Canon John Sharp written by Ossett historian Helen Bickerdike to the beyond.ossett.net page. Updates and corrections to the WW1 and WW2 biographies from information received from family members.

8th January 2017

Major update. Added new section WW2 Remembrance with biographies of the 75 Ossett men and women who gave their lives during the Second World War. Also included are the biographies of those remembered on the Ossett Grammar School WW2 Memorial, which was unveiled in 1951. This includes some men from Horbury and Middlestown as well as Ossett. The new WW2 page is still work in progress, but there are additional biographies of some of the men that survived and also some that received medals for bravery. These will be expanded with more names as time permits.

14th December 2016

Added David Scriven's latest look at Ossett during the WW1 years for the months of January to June 1917. Updated the Ossett Grammar School pictures page with additional pictures from Telford Moore and some pupil names with hotspots. Updated the Ossett Academy page with a new partial list of Ossett Grammar School Head Boys and Head Girls. Updated the Ossett People page with some corrections about John Woodhouse, aprt of the "Benjamin Ingham, the Ossett Godfather" story. Added the Douglas Brammer Powerpoint presentation "Brammer's Ossett" for the Ossett Historical Society on the 28th November 2016 in the Downloads area of the ossett.net web site.

4th July 2016

Major update. Added new section called Brammer's Ossett Sketches with many more sketches and descriptions of the scenes by Ossett artist Douglas Brammer. New section by Helen Bickerdike detailing the laying of the foundation stone at Ossett Town Hall and the grand opening ceremony in 1908. New update to the history of Sowood House on Ossett Green with additional material and pictures of Dr. Stephen Brandon Stoker. Updated the Gawthorpe page with new pictures of the Boot and Shoe public house and some minor corrections. Added David Scriven's excellent snapshot of Ossett during WW1 for the months of July through December 1916.