One photograph – Four WW1 Volunteers

The photograph shown above is of the Slack family – father Richard Henry and his wife, Lily, with their daughter Mary in her arms; two of their sons Peter and William sat on the wall, with their brother Richard stood in front of them; and the two other childen, Martha Ann (known as Sissie) and Charles, sat down against the wall.

It was probably taken at the family home on Silsden Moor, in 1895 or 1896 (Mary was born in 1895) and is remarkable in that all four of the boys would later become Farnhill WW1 Volunteers.

• Richard Slack (b. 1886) served with the Royal Flying Corps (the forerunner of the RAF).
• William Lister Slack (b. 1887) served for nine years, including the whole of the war period, with the Mercantile Marine.
• Charles Slack (b. 1889) volunteered to serve with the Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding) Regiment but was discharged due to a throid condition that deteriorated during his training period.
• Peter Slack (b. 1892) served with the West Yorkshire Regiment.

All four men survived the war, although William died just a few weeks after returning to Farnhill in 1919, of influenza.