We have received information that Ian’s funeral will take place at 11.30 am on Thursday 8th January 2026 at Oakworth Crematorium.
I first met Ian in 2005 at The Brown Cow Public House in Keighley. I was introduced to him by Laurence Brocklesby, then Chairman of Keighley and District Local History Society and I’d just attended their committee meeting in the back room, to tell them about the Men of Worth Project. Laurence thought the two organisations would benefit from closer ties and he was correct.
Ian had his own stool at the end of the bar which impressed me straight away, I like a man who knows his beer…
Ian and I met several times over the next few months and decided to join forces. The thing with the Men of Worth Project was that although I’d been doing it as a hobby project for a few years (mostly around the Worth Valley, but centred on Oakworth) it needed a fresh viewpoint and Ian certainly provided that and he enabled us to extend the research into Keighley as well.
Ian was very much a ‘defender of the downtrodden’ and wanted to do something about the local war memorials which were held in storage, or were apparently ‘lost forever’ but he wasn’t convinced they all were, more that nobody had looked for them properly. He also wanted to photograph and record all of the Commonwealth War Grave Commission headstones in local cemeteries and particularly, any family inscriptions for dead soldiers on local graves, who were actually buried overseas. Our aims were closely aligned and we got on well with each other from the beginning.
Over the years we collaborated on a large number of exhibitions and at local galas and shows, spoke to Councillors and got funding for display boards and equipment to tell the stories of those who served in wartime. I would say that our most notable and public achievements were the ones in which Ian led from the front. We achieved Commonwealth War Graves Commission recognition for three local men who had been missed after their deaths in service or slightly afterwards, but who had definitely died as a result of their war service. These being Private Herbert Moore, Private Ivor Tempest Greenwood and Gunner Gilbert Hardy Midgley who all have a CWGC headstone on their graves as a result and will be remembered in perpetuity.
Ian also led with the rescue and saving of several war memorials, notably the Cross Roads Primitive Methodist Sunday School roll of honour. This was a set of thirty photos mounted in a frame which was rebuilt from scratch, having fallen to bits in storage at Keighley Library. Ian pulled in a lot of favours from people he knew to accomplish this. The Haworth Oddfellows Hall roll of honour was a particular bone of contention for Ian and he was determined to find a new home for it, preferably on public display. This came to it’s conclusion in the boardroom of Wyedean Weaving in Haworth when the panel was unveiled in it’s new home in 2018, after extensive conservation work to restore it close to it’s original condition. Again, several people were involved but Ian drove this through.
There are many other things Ian did as a Director of the Men of Worth Project, he acted as a voice for us, engaged with hundreds of people over the years on our behalf and got many people on our side and engaging with what we do. He personally organised the reading out of all the names of the men from Keighley and District by local uniformed cadet groups on Remembrance day throughout the five years of the Great War centenary period, 2014 to 2019 inclusive.
His enthusiam for history and the protection of unique items were a driving force in our organisation and some of the things we are most proud of.
Perhaps our crowning moment was the award of The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2021. Receiving this award from the Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire and hosted by Keighley Town Council in Keighley Civic Centre, and going to The Queen’s garden party at Buckingham Palace in 2022, were the cherry on top of the cake for us. Ian was really looking forward to cucumber sandwiches on the lawn outside the home of the Queen and although the sandwiches weren’t cucumber they were delicious! Ian and I had a thrilling day of it and a visit to the Imperial War Museum the next day topped off a great weekend.
In recent years and to his great frustration, Ian’s health had prevented him taking an active part in events, but he’s been no less a supporter of what we do.
He was a perennially cheerful personality, he was usually upbeat and positive and I am proud to have worked with him and to count him as a friend.
Ian, you will be missed by us all and we send our love and best wishes to Edith and family in their loss.
