Mindrum Young

Transcription

Erected by ALEXANDER YOUNG in memory of his beloved wife FRENCHIE YOUNG who died at Throckley New Burn-on-Tyne on the 9th Feb 1911  aged 35 years.

Also the above ALEXANDER YOUNG who died on the 8th Jan 1961 aged 83 years.

PLEASE NOTE  THAT  THEIR IS MORE INFORMATION ON THIS FAMILY UNDER THE MILITARY RECORD SECTION JUST BELOW 

Military record

John Young 1873 -1908 – Mindrum Churchyard
John Young died in South Africa and is remembered on the gravestone of his mother and father
in Mindrum Churchyard
Headstone Inscription
In Loving Memory of ALEXANDER YOUNG who died at
Mindrum Mill Sep. 16 1910 aged 71 years.
ISABELLA died in infancy
JAMES who died at Barelees, April 16. 1880 aged 16 years.
JOHN who died at Johannesburg, May 21.1908 aged 35 years.
Also of Mary WHILLIANS his wife who died at West
Learmouth Jan 6.1929 aged 90 years.
JEMIMA daughter of the above who died May 3.1960
aged 78 years.
The Borders
John Young was the son of Alexander and Mary Young. He was born in Lucker, in the parish of Belper,
and lived in Duddo and Paston before settling down in Mindrum Mill where he worked as an agricultural
labourer on the same farm as his father and brother’s Thomas and John. After he enlisted with the
Imperial Yeomanry in 1902, he moved from the borders to undergo military training at Aldershot. Although
his motives for joining the Imperial Yeomanry remain unknown, his service with the military would have
given him an opportunity for adventure and the wages were up to five times higher than those received
by the average agricultural labourer.
The Imperial Yeomanry
The 158th Squadron, 35th Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry was raised in 1902 to fight in the Boer War in
South Africa. John was never called upon to fight, as, by the time his troop ship ‘Sicilia’ docked in Durban
the war had ended.
Attestation Papers
John Young – Service number 41932190-35th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry.
John’s attestation papers reveal details of his appearance and outlines the history of his short service in
the army.
‘Short Attestation’ form to serve for the length of 1 year
1902. Enlisted at Newcastle on Tyne
Age. 29 years 3 mths.
Agricultural labourer in the parish of Belford near Alnwick
Height. 5′ 11 1/4 ”
Chest measurements. 35”. Maximum expansion 38”.
Complexion. Fresh
Eyes. Grey
Hair. Black
Scar on the neck, two moles on the back and on the left cheek of the face.
Church. Presbyterian
Army Service.
15.1.1902 – 25.5.1902 Home. Trained in Talavera Barracks at Aldershot
25.5.1902 – 24.11.1902 South Africa
24.11.1902 At his own request. Discharged from service in Newcastle, Natal, South
Africa. Served 314 days
Talavera Barracks, Aldershot
After John completed his military training at Aldershot, he entrained for the port of Southampton and set
sail for South Africa on 26.5.1902. Newspaper reports provide further details of his movements:
The Standard Newspaper. May 1902
Orders were issued at Aldershot this afternoon for the 35th Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry to leave on 26th
for the front.
The Standard Newspaper, Tuesday May 27 1902

The War in South Africa
The Yeomanry Drafts
New Mounted Infantry
The 35th embarked on Sicilia at Southampton, the troops having a more than usual hearty send off from
Aldershot where a large number of people assembled at the government railway siding, the bands of the
Queens Bays and the Royal Garrison Regiments played them to the station where also the pipers of the
Highland Horse again assisted to enliven the work of entrainment.
The Police Force in South Africa.
John was a police constable when he died in 1908. The South African Police Force are known to have
launched a recruitment drive in 1902 which specifically targeted former soldiers. If John enrolled with the
police in November, 1902, it would explain why he’d asked to be discharged in South Africa instead of
following the standard military practice of waiting to be discharged on U.K. soil.
Ashington, Northumberland
Between 1902 and 1908, John visited the UK for an unknown length of time and whilst he was in
Ashington, he became engaged to Mary Brodie. Sadly, John died of pneumonia in 1908 before their
marriage could take place.
A Newspaper Report
South Africa 1908
Young. At Johannesburg Hospital, Transvaal, South Africa on May 21st of pneumonia. John Young,
police constable, late of Ashington and third son of Alexander Young, Mindrum Mill, in his 35th year,
deeply mourned. Interred in Braamonfontein Cemetery.
Mary Brodie.
John’s Fiance and the Second Wife of His Brother, Alexander Young.
After John died, Mary Brodie remained on friendly terms with his family. She travelled to Mindrum with his
two brothers for the funeral of Frances Young in 1911, and a year later, in 1912, she married John’s
brother, Alexander Young, in the Holy Sepulchre Church in Ashington.

Commentary

Mindrum Churchyard
Alexander Young 1840 -1910 and His Wife Mary Young nee Whillians 1839 -1929
Headstone Inscription
In Loving Memory of ALEXANDER YOUNG who died at
Mindrum Mill Sep 16 1910 aged 71 years.
ISABELLA died in infancy.
JAMES who died at Barelees, April16 1880 aged 16
years.
JOHN who died at Johannesburg, May 21.1908 aged 35 years
also of MARY WHILLIANS his wife who died at West
Learmouth Jan.6 1929 aged 90 years.
JEMIMA daughter of the above who died May 3 1960
aged 78 years.
Scotland
Jedburgh
Alexander Young and Mary Whillians were both born near Jedburgh and lived their entire lives in the
borders. After their marriage in Scotland they had eight children; four boys and four daughters. Two of
their sons and one of their daughters would predecease the couple. Their names are inscribed on the
Mindrum gravestone. Alexander worked on a number of farms in the areas of Jedburgh, Duddo, Lucker,
Kirknewton and Middleton before he finally settled down as the ‘farm steward’ at Mindrum Mill.
Farm Steward. Mindrum Mill 1881-1910
Alexander was employed at Mindrum Mill from 1881 and his responsibilities as the farm steward would
have included the purchase and sales of produce and equipment, the supervision of agricultural
labourers and the management of the farm in the absence of the farmer. He would remain in the same
job for 27 years.
The Funeral of Alexander Young
A local newspaper reported on Alexander’s funeral:
Berwick Advertiser. September 23 1910
Mindrum Mill
One of the old standard bearers of the district has just passed over to the great majorit, in the person of
Mr. Alexander Young, for 27 years steward to Mr. Borthwick of Mindrum Mill, a faithful servant leaving a
widow, two sons and four daughters to mourn his loss.
He was buried at Carham Churchyard on Tuesday 20th, the officiating clergyman being Rev. Algernon
Barker, the vicar of Carham. The chief mourners were Mr. T. Young and Mr. A.Young, sons, and Mr. J.
Robinson son-in-law. The funeral cortege consisted of among others P.B. Selby Esq, Pawston, Mr.
Briggs, Mindrum Mill, Mr. Borthwick, Mindrum, Mr. Thompson, Downham, Mr. Rand, Beaument Hill, Mr.
Scott, Schoolhouse Mindrum, Mr. Balmbra stationmaster, Mindrum, Mr. Smith, Mindrum, Mr. McGregor,
Mindrum, Mr. Anderson, Edinburgh, Mr. Jeffrey, Cornhill, Mr. Scott, Eastfield and the Mindrum Mill
employees. The funeral arrangements were carried out by Mr. R. Smith, Panama Cottage, Cornhill.
The Vicar of Carham and the Funeral Cortege
The Rev. Algernon Prest Bird Barker was instituted into the vicarage of Carham in January 1909, and as
a relative newcomer to the area, he is unlikely to have known Alexander particularly well. The chief
mourners, Mr. T. and Mr. A. Young were Alexander’s two surviving sons, Thomas and Alexander, who
lived in Ashington and Throckley respectively. Many of the mourners were either local farmers or
prominent members of the community such as Mr. Lawrence Scott, the headmaster of Mindrum Council
School and Mr. R. E. Balmbra who was Mindrum’s Stationmaster.
Mary Young. The widow of Alexander Young
Mindrum
After the death of her husband, Mary moved into a three roomed cottage to live with her son-in-law,
Joseph Robson and her daughter Lillian. Joseph was the farm steward at Mindrum in 1911.
Buckton Farm. Berwick on Tweed
Joseph Robson died before 1921, leaving his widow with two children. Mary Young moved with them to
Buckton Farm, Belford, Berwick on Tweed, where Lillian Robson found employment as a dairy maid on

Thomas Summerfield’s farm.
West Learmouth
Mary Young died eight years later in West Learmouth.

Thomas Young 1862 – 1935. The Eldest Son of Alexander and Mary Young of Mindrum Mill
Details Of His Grave Are Not Known.
The Borders
Thomas Young was the eldest son of Alexander and Mary Young and was born at Edgerston near
Jedburgh. He worked on farms from the age of 11 years and was an agricultural labourer for more than
half his working life. In 1881 he worked at Paston but by 1901 he had moved to the same farm as his
father at Mindum Mill where he worked with his brothers, John and Alexander. It is possible that his final
farm work was in Norham, St. Cuthberts as between 1901 – 1911, he made the radical decision of
moving from the area to find work as a coal miner in the large coal mining village of Ashington.
Ashington Colliery
Thomas initially worked ‘above the ground’ but by 1921 he and three of his sons, were working
underground for the Ashington Coal Company. His job was described as an, ‘Underground Horsekeeper’
and his duties included feeding the horses with a diet of chopped hay and maize and ensuring they were
properly groomed and their harness kept in good condition. He was also expected to make regular
reports on the animals as required by the ‘Coal Mines Act’. Pit ponies were stabled underground and only
came to the surface during the colliery’s annual holiday.
Thomas’s son George was born in Carham and after moving to Ashington he was employed as a ‘pony
breaker’ His job was to train pit ponies until they were ready for the job of hauling tubs of coal
underground. Another son, Thomas Junior (born in Norham) also worked with colliery horses. He was
employed as a ‘colliery horseman’ or ‘pony driver’ and his duties included brushing the coats of the
horses every day to remove mud, dust and mites, and prevent the horses tackle from rubbing onto their
skin. A third son, Alexander, was employed as a colliery underground motor attendant.
Life in the colliery was very different to the rural life that Thomas and his family had led in the borders. He
lived in the part of Ashington which was called ‘The Hirst’. It was densely populated and consisted of
multiple rows of long, terraced housing which backed onto unsurfaced lanes. Water was obtained from
several communal pumps which were placed along the length of each lane and to the front of each home
was a small garden. Thomas’s addresses in Ashington included 66 Castle Terrace and 173 Woodhorn
Road.
Accidental Death
Thomas was killed by a train on 22.2. 1935. A subsequent enquiry into the accident exhonerated the
train driver from all blame.
February 1935. Rail Tragedy Sequel
Accidental Death Verdict At Ashington.
A verdict of accidental death carrying with it exhonoration from all responsibility for the driver of the train
was returned by the jury at the inquest at Ashington yesterday on Thomas Young, a 72 years old retired
horsekeeper of Woodhorn Road, Ashington, who was killed on the L.N.E.R. line at a crossing between
Ashington and Newbiggon on Friday. Young, it was stated, was lawfully using the crossing.
Louise Redfern was the only occupant of the compartment nearest the engine. She saw a man standing
very near, on the left hand side of the line, facing towards the railway as if waiting for the train to pass.
The engine did not touch him. She saw him lift up his hand and shout, and then fall backwards and she
heard a bump at her carriage door.
The coroner said the man perhaps miscalculated his distance, moved forward and was caught by a
projecting part of the train.

Mindrum Churchyard
Alexander Young Junior 1877 -1961 and His Wife Frances Young Date of Birth Unknown -1911
Headstone Inscription
ERECTED BY
ALEXANDER YOUNG JR
IN MEMORY OF HIS BELOVED WIFE
FRENCHIE YOUNG
WHO DIED AT
THROCKLEY, NEWBURN-ON-TYNE
ON THE 9TH FEB 1911
AGED 35 YEARS.
ALSO THE ABOVE
ALEXANDER YOUNG
WHO DIED ON THE
8TH JAN 1961
AGED 83 YEARS.
The Borders
Alexander Young Junior was the youngest son of Alexander and Mary Young. He was born in Duddo
near Berwick on Tweed and after leaving school, worked alongside his brothers, Thomas and John, at
Mindrum Mill.
The Northumberland Police Force
Alexander moved away from the ‘Scottish Borders’ between 1891 and 1900 and began to pursue a
career with the Northumberland Police Force. Police constables were often recruited from the agricultural
labourer workforce during this period, and because there was a high demand for the job, only one-in-five
applicants were accepted. It was reliable work and although the income was low, the wages were not
linked to individual performance and the job presented opportunities for upward mobility. Alexander
eventually rose through the ranks and retired as a police inspector circa, 1934.
A Police Career and Two Marriages
Alexander’s first placement as a police officer was in Amble where he lived as a boarder at number 15,
The Wynd. He later moved to Throckley and was living at Store View, 1 Ash Street, when his first wife,
Frances, died in 1911. Little is known about Frances although her obituary did mention that she was a
committed member of her local church. She is buried in Mindrum Churchyard. A year later, Alexander
would marry his second wife, Mary Brodie. The two families had been friends for several years and
before his early death in South Africa, Alexander’s brother, John, was engaged to Mary.
World War 1.
It is not known if Alexander was ‘called up’ for military service during the war and his story is resumed in
1921, when his widowed sister, Lillian Robson and his nephew, William Brodie were visitors at his home
in the Police Station on Newburn Lane. William Brodie was 17 years old and a former ‘pony driver’ at the
‘Ashington Coal Company’. Alexander and Mary helped to raise him as a child, and they thought of him
as their son.
Police Incidents in Amble and Throckley
Alexander’s police cases were regularly reported in the local newspapers. The incidents included small
thefts, robbery, drunk and disorderly behaviour, assault, public disorder and driving offences.
Retirement in Throckley
It is not known when Alexander retired from the Police Force but it was probably in 1934.
Morpeth Herald. 26 Jan 1934
Inspector Russell has taken the place of Inspector Young at Newburn. We regret the loss of Inspector
Young who has done very good service at Newburn.
Alexander owned a handsome writing desk which was inscribed with a message from the Northumbrian
Police Force thanking him for his service. His neice recalled that it was presented to Alexander when he
retired.
World War 2

Alexander came out of retirement in 1939 and reported for ‘War Service’ with the ‘First Police Reserve’.
First Police Reserve. 1939 -1945
Anticipating the outbreak of war and the loss of large numbers of police to the armed services, the police
force sought to increase its numbers in several different ways. One of these was the use of police
pensioners who had been kept on a small retainer and were re-engaged and paid a normal salary.
Uniform
The uniform and equipment was the same as that of a regular constable, with the exception of uniform
epaulettes which were detailed W.R.C. above the collar number and bore a divisional sign. Instead of
traditional police headgear the Police Reserve wore a Brodie helmet with W.R. Police, or POLICE
marked on the front However, peaked caps could also be issued.
Armed
Officers were armed with Canadian Ross rifles during wartime, for protection from enemy action, enemy
sabotage and to assist the armed forces.
Duties
The duties of a WRC included the usual activities of a constable, as well as:-
1. Working closely with civil defence workers during and after air raids.
2. Handling reports of bombs and emergency communications via direct line police boxes during raids.
3. Sounding of sirens and reporting for duty at the sounding of the siren.
4. Assisting the fire brigade in fire fighting and rescuing casualties for the first two years of war.
5. Prevention of looting from bomb damaged buildings, sharing responsibility with the army for recovering
escaped prisoners. of warand protecting key local installations.
6. Monitoring foreigners or ‘aliens’ in case they were spies or saboteurs.
7. Supervising the public with respect to gas masks, ensuring correct fitting and that they were carried at
all times.
8. Visiting schools to inform children on gas drills and the dangers of bombs and shrapnel.
9. Using wireless transmitters in addition to the normal switchboard and police telephones.
10. Enforcing blackouts.
11. Combating black market activity.
12. Capturing deserting soldiers.
The Bombing of Throckley
Throckley was bombed on 3rd/4th May 1941 and in his role as an officer with the ‘Police Reserve’,
Alexander most probably attended the ‘scene’ where he would have been called upon to administer help
as needed.
Second Retirement
After Alexander was discharged from the ‘Police Reserve’ he enjoyed his final years of retirement tending
to his garden and keeping bees in the home he called ‘Mindrum’ at number 286 Hexham Road,
Throckley.
Alexander’s First Wife, Frances (Frenchie) Young. Date of birth Unknown – 1911
Mindrum Churchyard
Other than the information in the newspaper reports below, little is known of the life of Frances Young.
Newspaper report. February 24. 1911
Store View, Throckley. Frances, Frenchie, wife of Alexander Young to travel with 10.19 train from
Newburn to Mindrum.
Berwick Advertisor. 24 February 1911
Mrs. Young, Wife of Alexander Young, Throckley
Funeral of late Mrs. Young of Throckley, wife of P.C .Young, Throckley, a native of Tweedside, took place
on 11 February.
At the residence of deceased a service was conducted by Rev.Robert Irvine and Rev. H.G. Goodwin.
The cortege proceeded to Newburn and the mourners proceeded by road to Newburn. The mourners
then travelled by train to Mindrum where the internment took place. The officiating clergyman being Rev.
Mr Barker, vicar. The mourners were joined en-route by Mr. T. Young, brother-in-law and Miss Brodie at
Morpeth.
A large contingent of Police representatives from Gosforth, Newburn, Scotswood, Heddon on-the Wall,
Walbottle, Wylam and Denton Burn attended the funeral.
Alexander’s Second Wife, Mary Young nee Brodie 1879 – 1963
Churchyard Unknown

Mary and Alexander Young were married in The Holy Sepulchre Church, Ashington, on April, 1912. Mary
was born in 1879 at Pegswood Colliery and at the time of her marriage she worked for influential,
businessman John Craigs at Station Villa, Ashington, She had been a friend of the Young family for many
years as she had been engaged to Alexander’s brother John. Sadly, John died of pneumonia before they
could marry. Alexander and Mary lived a happy life together in Throckley and although they had no
children of their own, they were very fond of their nephew, William Brodie, a sickly child whom they
helped to raise as a child. Mary outlived Alexander by two years. Her last home address was given as
‘Mindrum’, 286 Hexham Road, Throckley, Northumberland. She died on 28 June 1963 at Wooley
Sanatorium, Slayley, Hexham, in Northumberland. It was a hospital for the elderly
Alexander and Mary Young. Known Within the Family as Uncle Alec and Auntie Mary
My grandfather, William Brodie, thought of Uncle Alec and Auntie Mary as second parents as he had
lived with them for extended periods throughout his childhood. On leaving school William became a
miner in Ashington. The job was hard and with poor health and only one kidney it was often a difficult
experience. During the years of ‘The Great Depression’ he was out of work for 14 years. Uncle Alec and
Auntie Mary helped to support his family during a time of great hardship. They paid for medical bills and
regularly supplied the family with food and clothing. During the Depression, many unemployed miners in
Ashington became destitute and homeless and without the help of Uncle Alec and Auntie Mary this might
easily have become the fate of William and his family.
Visits to Uncle Alec and Auntie Mary by their 3x Great Niece During the Post War Years
Uncle Alec and Auntie Mary were a kind and loving couple and I always looked forward to seeing them in
their home – a semi-detached house that was built between the wars. Uncle Alec enjoyed gardening and
his front garden boasted a lilac tree and a prized collection of chrysanthemums. Leading into the rear
garden and running alongside the entire length of the house, was a flower border of sweetly fragranced
lily of the valley. My Aunt and Uncle were both very partial to a breakfast of bread and honey and Uncle
Alec kept a bee hive in his back garden. A large picture portrait of Mary’s lost fiance (Alec’s brother, John
Young) hung on the wall of their spare bedroom and Durham quilts covered the beds. The quilts were
hand sewn, and decorated with a profusion of swirling, intricate patterns which had been embroidered
with minute stitches. Auntie Mary had made them herself and it must have taken months for her to
complete each quilt. Auntie Mary always looked elegant – she wore dresses of muted shades of lilac
and coiled her long grey hair into a bun.
They were a very special couple.
Alison Robertson