The Chippindale Family

Isaac Chippindale came to Scholes from the windmill at Seacroft which now forms the centre of the well known hotel of the same name there. He established the Scholes Brick and Tile works on Wood Lane in Scholes. Run as a family business, the quarry gave high quality clay which made bricks from which many houses in Cross Gates, Seacroft, Scholes and Thorner were built. Isaac and his wife Clara had six children together, four boys and two girls. Arthur was the eldest son, born in December 1866, and he was followed four years later by Miranda. Next was Kate, three years younger than Miranda, followed after another three years by William. Isaac Murray Chippindale was born around 1884 and the family was completed with the birth of Henry Murray Chippindale in March 1887.

Clara took over the running of the Brickyard on the death of her husband, and she was assisted by her two oldest children, Arthur, who managed the operation, and Miranda who was the bookkeeper. Clara later married James Milner of Milner Villas on what is now Main Street in Scholes.

Arthur married Susan and they had three sons, Roy, born around 1893, Donald, born 23 March 1895, and Hugh Arthur born in 1896.

When the Great War came so many of the workforce at the Brick and Tile Works joined the armed services or went off to other war work, the brickyard was forced to close. In addition to the workers going to the services, the Chippindale men also answered the call for volunteers and brothers William and Henry Murray joined up, as did their nephews, Donald and Hugh Arthur.

William joined the Royal Flying Corps and became an Air Mechanic 1st Class. He remained with the RFC when it became a separate service in its own right on 1 April 1918 on the formation of the Royal Air Force. William survived the war, however, it appears that he had not emerge from the war untouched. He was described on his Death Certificate as having died from the effects of Pulmonary Tuberculosis, which he had had for three years, and the immediate effects of Acute Lobar Pneumonia which he had suffered for only three days. He is also described as being an Army Pensioner when he died at his home - Brickworks House, Wood Lane, Scholes.

Henry originally joined the Yorkshire Hussars as a Trooper. He was promoted Corporal and served with the regimental number 2345. The Yorkshire Hussars was a yeomanry regiment, the Territorial Force equivalent of the cavalry. On his commissioning he was transferred to the Yorkshire Dragoons. It was common for officers commissioned from the the ranks to be transferred to a different regiment in order to not allow old familiarities and loyalties influence the new officer, or let his subordinates who were recently his equals expect preferential treatment. The practice allowed the officer to make a fresh start.

Henry was gazetted a 2nd Lieutenant in the gazette of 12th September 1917, with seniority dating from 25th August 1917.

The following year this announcement was made in the London Gazette: -

SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE. 7 NOVEMBER, 1918
AWARDED THE MILITARY CROSS.
2nd Lt. Henry Murray Chippindale, Yeo.
For conspicuous gallantry and ability while making a reconnaissance. He took his troop forward, carrying out his duties most successfully, and when, machine-gun fire compelled him to send his horse away he continued his reconnaissance on foot and remained observing the enemy and sending back good information throughout the afternoon. He located enemy artillery, a machine-gun position, and an infantry position. He did excellent work, and his report was of the greatest value to the operations.

Donald Chippindale gained a commission in the Royal Field Artillery and he too was a Territorial Force Officer, serving with the 1st North Midland Brigade. Donald, like his uncle Henry also received the Military Cross for his gallantry when serving as a Forward Observation Officer (F.O.O.). The London Gazette published the award in a supplement on 18th June 1917. It read: -

SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 18 JUNE, 1917.
MILITARY CROSS.
2nd Lt. Donald Chippindale, R.F.A.
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He did exceptionally good work as F.O.O. The trench in which he was posted was shelled continuously. In spite of this he maintained communications, and three times reported the enemy massing for an attack, thus enabling steps to be taken which brought the enemy attack to nothing.

In December 1918 the London Gazette carried an announcement that Donald Chippindale was relinquishing his commission due to ill health contracted on war service. Donald evidently recovered his health and lived until December 1984 when he died at Bridlington aged 89 years old.

Hugh Arthur Chippindale was commissioned into the Royal Field Artillery as a territorial officer, but in March 1918 he was seconded to the Military Wing of the Royal Flying Corps where he trained and qualified as an Observer. He quickly made his mark in his new role and was awarded the Military Cross, which was announced as follows: -

SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 22 JUNE, 1918.
AWARDED THE MILITARY CROSS.
Lt. Hugh Arthur Chippindale, R.F.A., attd. R.F.C.
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. While carrying out a reconnaissance, he and his pilot were attacked by eleven hostile scouts. They succeeded in destroying one of these, drove off the remainder, and then completed the reconnaissance. Later, when information was urgently needed during an engagement, he and his pilot carried out a most successful reconnaissance, flying at a very low altitude under continuous rifle and machine-gun fire from the ground. They located hostile batteries, and enabled very effective counter battery work to be carried out, and also engaged ground targets with bombs and machine-gun fire. He showed splendid courage and skill.

When the war ended there was a surplus of officers in the newly formed RAF and many of the officers who had been seconded were placed on the unemployed list prior to being returned to their parent units. This happened to Hugh Chippindale on 29th January 1919, and he was restored to the establishment of 3rd West Riding Brigade the same day.

Between the wars investment was made into the brickyard and new steam boilers were bought, but the efforts to get the business up and running again could not save it and the company finally closed.

The Chippindale family probably made more of an impression on the village than any other. The houses their bricks built can still be seen and the Arthursdale area of Scholes is quite obvious in its origins. Their military achievements, winning three Military Crosses between them is something which the family was obviously very proud of. There being two family members in the RFC and later the RAF shows that they were a family that embraced the future and were modern in their outlook. When Donald Chippindale left the Army, he was granted the honorary rank of Captain, and this appears in his telephone directory entries until 1971. He used the post nominal letters MC until 1960.

The derelict site of the brickworks was littered with the detritus of its former use but the most imposing feature of the site was the pair of chimneys which once vented the furnaces under boilers and the kilns. These stood in mute testimony to the bygone era of Scholes Brick and Tile Works until they were brought crashing down by controlled explosion in the early 1980s when it was discovered, after years of suspicion, that the structures had been rendered unsafe by age, neglect and vandalism. The site of the quarry was cleared and the lake cleansed of much of the deposited rubbish of years of fly tipping, including, so rumour has it the shells of numerous dumped cars. The waters of the quarry have supported the angler in his hobby almost since the pit stopped being pumped dry, and stories of fabled pike abound. Today many anglers from East Leeds can claim to have baited their first hook at "Chippy's".