AN Addingham man of letters is compiling a postal history of the

village and needs residents' help in hunting down postmarks from the past.

Frank Laycock already has some of the earliest Addingham postmarks from the 1830s but is on the lookout for more mailbox memorabilia.

He says the postmarks provide a fascinating insight into the history of the village.

"I have a postmark from 1831 which is the earliest known one from Addingham although it may have had one the year before," he said.

"Now I'm really only interested in finding other 19th century material."

And it's not just postmarks which hold a fascination for the retired stamp auctioneer.

"I'm after interesting letters as well," said Mr Laycock, 69. "I have got a beautiful filigree envelope which was sent to Farfield Hall on Christmas Day 1851."

Another letter, sent from Henry Bland of Addingham in April 1844, describes a stand-up fight in the

village between two church wardens. "It's incredibly funny," said Mr Laycock. "The fight was apparently over an election poster being pulled down.

"I also have several Penny Blacks on covers from Addingham."

Now, Mr Laycock is hoping that

villagers will help him by looking through their attics for postal

treasures which could lurk there.

"People might not realise the importance of what they have," he said. "I look for them in auction houses and I find about one a year. They are as scare as that."

The early postmarks also highlight Addingham's history at the heart of the local wool trade - a far bigger

village than Ilkley before it became a spa town.

"Addingham was a very much more important village than Ilkley and is very old," said Mr Laycock.

"Mail would have gone from here to Otley - another important

settlement - for distribution to the big wide world," he added.

Anyone with any early postal memorabilia can contact Mr Laycock on (01943) 831519.

l At the same time, Addingham historian Kate Mason is searching for less tangible mementoes of the

village.

Mrs Mason, of Cocking Lane, is attempting to document the wartime take-over of Low Mill for the manufacture of SU carburettors.

She wants anyone with memories of this period to get in touch with her.

"I haven't really got much about it yet," she said. "The people with the memories of how they worked are dying out. It was important at the time that they should be kept hush-hush - they never talked about them much after the war.

"I think it's important that this period should be properly documented otherwise the memories will be gone forever." Mrs Mason can be contacted on (01943) 830396.