Age of Emotion: Hatred of War 1917: Drunken assault on Dalston schoolmaster 1735
Hatred of War
Archie Dickinson was serving on the front line in 1917 when he sent this letter of Christmas love back to his parents. Sadly the hatred of war overtook the family, and Archie did not live to spend the next Christmas at home with his family as he had wished…
My dear Mother,
This is to wish you and Father a very happy Christmas and prosperous New Year. I hope that by next Xmas the war will be over and we shall all be home. Of course I do not know how much leave the Union Government will give me when I am finally discharged from the Army, but I hope it will be a good long time…
Reference: Cumbria Archive and Local Studies Centre, Barrow BDHJ221/3/27a
Drunken assault on Dalston schoolmaster
The petition of John Rowland of Dalston, schoolmaster - warrant for the arrest of William Peat, disrupter of his class, who broke in and beat him up in his classroom for refusing to go out drinking there and then, and cursed and swore at him in front of his pupils. The said Peat is "a very Desperate Fellow as is well known"
The Humble Petition of Jonathan Rowland of Dalston in the said County Schoolmaster
Humbly sheweth
That your petitioner being teaching school at Dalston aforesaid the sixteenth day of this instant of Aprill there came in one William Peat in a very rude and violent manner and laid hold upon your said petitioner and would force him to go out of his said School, and goe Drink with him at Richard Browne's, where the said Peat had been all the night before, whether your said petitioner would or not, and your said Petitioner refusing to go with him the said Peat without any more to doe, laid hold upon your petitioner and Drag't him to the door, and tore his gown upon his back and then the said Peat went away for about a quarter of an hour and returned again cursing and swearing most horridly, and abusing your said petitioner in a very scurrilous Chross manner and at ye same time assaulted your said petitioner with his hand and foot, and has several times before threatened to Doe your Petitioner a Private injury, so that your petitioner is afraid of some bodily harm from the said Peat being a very Desperate fellow as is well known.
The Court heard the petition of the schoolmaster and issued a warrant for the arrest of his assailant. Hopefully, the schoolmaster's troubles were then over!