New light has been shed on an historic fire brigade strike.

A former Silsden fireman has spoken out about the Fire Brigade's 'strike' of 1911, after reading last week's Bygone Transport supplement.

Local history enthusiast Neil Cathey, of King Street in Silsden, wrote to the KN after reading that Silsden Fire Brigade was on strike when the Silsden Motor Omnibus Company garage was destroyed by fire on October 30, 1911.

Mr Cathey explained: "Through researching the town, I spoke to Tom Clarkson, a fireman in Silsden's Brigade in 1911, who has since sadly died.

"He explained to me the circumstances of the 'strike.' At the time, the firemen of Silsden had had an unscheduled practice for which the council - the local body responsible for the brigade - refused to pay them.

"After much discussion between the men and the council, all to no avail, the members of the brigade handed in their resignations to the then captain Herbert Spencer - who accepted their resignations."

They handed in their notice on September 18, 1911, and on October 17, 1911, they confirmed this officially with a letter to Silsden council.

Mr Cathey continued: "So this left Silsden without a fire brigade, and on October 30, 1911, the Silsden Motor Omnibus Co's garage in Bradley Road was destroyed by fire.

"The ex-Silsden crew were severely criticised for not turning up to this fire, both around the village and in the local press."

The ex-firemen wrote to the Keighley News to explain their stance, keen to point out that had there been any serious danger to life they would have got involved.

"If there had been any serious danger to life or property then there is not a man of the late brigade who would have stood by indifferent," they wrote.

Mr Clarkson told Mr Cathey, "We would have done our utmost to prevent further loss."

By November 11, 1911, the men had not withdrawn their resignations or returned to duty so Silsden council advertised for a new crew. This consisted of the original captain Herbert Spencer, seven men and four reserves, all aged over 18.

Captain Spencer served the community in the fire brigade for well over 20 years, and when he retired in May 1912 he was replaced by his nephew Fred Spencer - who had resigned in 1911 but who rejoined when the dispute calmed down.

The information and pictures were kindly supplied by Neil Cathey, who says: "All this information was told to me by Tom Clarkson in 1972 when I was a serving member of Silsden Fire Brigade."