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Site Owner Stuart Ingwell Copyright 2025	Each of the biographers (named below) asserts their right under the Copyright and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of their work and forbids the copying in whole or in part of their work by human or data collection agents. PRESS the appropriate book symbol to apply for the appropriate password to access each biography.
Barbara Martin	Barbara was born in Thornes (Wakefield, Yorkshire) in 1917. Her father was a publican and her upbringing in the hostelries of Yorkshire gives a fascinating insight into life between the two World Wars. Her story begins with her earliest memory: the day her grandmother was killed by a train at the level crossing in Crowle(?). She tells of her father's life as a publican and hotelier, with stories of bare-fist boxing in the pub gardens and calming the near riots during St Ledgers week at Doncaster races (He later became patron at the course and Mayor of Doncaster). She describes her first trip to London where her father was showing St Bernards dogs at Crufts and her wedding at the beginning of WWII whilst food was rationed. Her wartime reflections as a 'civvy' capture the essence of life during the war, including constructing Anderson shelters and surviving the worst of the rationing rules.
Samuel Ingwell	Samuel left shool at the age of 12. He never studied literature, but did learn to read and write using a colloquial style with strong echoes of his broad Yorkshire accent. He recounts life on the 12 acre smallholding which the family called 'The Farm' until its sale to Leeds City Council as playing fields for a new secondary school and his move into suburbia (Crossgates, Leeds). This is a short story with an emphasis on adolescent exploits: getting lost in the grounds of Fountains Abbey; selling peanuts (probably animal feed quality) to schoolfriends, and staging shows in the extensive cellars below the farmhouse.
Austin Clark	Nearing the end of his life, Austin Clarke dictated this memoire (reproduced here) telling of his experiences in the Great War. He also relates the time he spent as a youth in Pensylvania at the end of the 19th Century - including his association with the gang culture of the United States . His was a much travelled family (related to the Kitson/Martin clan) many of whom crossed the Atlantic several times [including a return visit for Grandma Clynes funeral (qv Barbara's biography)] Austin himself returned to live permanently in the UK where he married and became father to Roy Clarke - the playright who became famous in the 1970's and 80's (Open All Hours and Last of the Summer Wine).
Ann Harris	Ann is the original matriarch of the Ingwell familiy. She led a fascinating life in the East End of London surviving two cholera epidemics and outliving three husbands. She took the surname 'Spark' from her first husband (Edward) and they had three children together. When he died at the age of 40yrs she married Richard Ingwell who had not long arrived in London from Essex although within five years he had also died (probably from cholera) now leaving her with five children to support. After three difficult years she married a widower named George Clarke (who already had three children) but his life was brought to an abrupt end when he fell from a ladder whilst working in docklands - unfortunately the coroner's record giving the details of the accident were lost to fire at the end of WWII. Ann continued to live with her eldest daughter and her family in London until her death in 1913.
Walter Kitson Jnr	Walter Stanley Kitson was a NCO-pilot in WWII who served in Bomber Command with both 9 Sqn and 214 Sqn. He was a survivor of operation Heligoland Bight (a battle, in Dec 1939, in which the RAF lost 57 men and 12 Wellington bombers). In October 1940 Walter was awarded the highest possible military honour that could be given to a non-commissioned officer - the Distinguished Flying Medal for bravery during actions in Europe in June and July of that year. He died in action whilst piloting a Wellington Mk10 bomber (#1279) of 9 Sqn. which left RAF Honington on a raid to bomb the port of Genoa in September 1941. HIs aircraft was presumably damaged and on the return flight crashed in the Alpine Region near to the Italian/French border. He was layed to rest in Orbassano (Turin) but later was relocated to the War Cemetery in Milan [Flt Sgt #580055].