THE "Old Skipper" was Frederick James Rayner who, after a remarkable life at sea, ended up in retirement in the 1930s in Darlington, taking photographs.
His grand-daughter, Pauline Jones, has lent Memories his album which is packed with three inch by two inch black-and-white photographs, taken around 1930. Last week, we had a look at his pictures showing the parks and parades of Darlington. This week, we look at his pictures which show his outings with the two workingmen’s clubs that he belonged to.
Cockerton Garth was built in 1860 for solicitor Thomas Robinson by well known Darlington architect JP Pritchett. In 1920, Cockerton Silver Band bought the house and out-buildings and turned the coach-house into their bandroom and the house into a "musical institute". The house is now completely lost by the extensions and alterations of the band club
The Old Skipper was born in York in 1870, but went to sea aged just 13 – without his parents’ permission.
One of the seafaring stories that he liked to tell was of an execution that he saw while anchored off a prison at Vera Cruz in Mexico. While the cargo of coal was discharged, he and his crewmates climbed to the top of the masts so they could peer over the prison walls.
An outing from one of the Old Skipper's Darlington clubs on a charabanc
He saw the prisoner – a leader of a gang of bandits which robbed gold and silver trains – led from his cell and soldiers lining up in front of him.
“As the prisoner faced the firing squad, a young soldier approached him carrying a white cloth with which to bind his eyes. But the condemned man waved him aside, preferring to face his executioners bravely.
“One of the officers counted ‘one, two, three’ and a volley rang out. Instead of falling backwards by the force of the bullets, as I expected, the prisoner reeled a bit and fell sideways.”
Darlington Working Men's Club in High Northgate was the first workies in Darlington when it opened on November 6, 1901. The Old Skipper was a member of both "the Darlington" and the Cockerton
After 12 years at sea, the Old Skipper became a machinist in York locomotive works. In 1906, he moved to Darlington to work in the North Road shops (where Morrisons supermarket is today).
“He had the distinction of being the first man in Darlington to bore a six-inch shell for the War Office,” said his life story which was published in the Darlington and Stockton Times in 1938. “In fact, it was his faultless workmanship that enabled the North Road shops to receive the Government contract for munitions during the Great War.”
The Old Skipper's photograph of Hurworth, with All Saints Church on the right and the Bay Horse Hotel on the left
In his retirement, he lived with his wife, Ellen, in Chandos Street. He frequented the Cockerton and Darlington working men’s clubs, and took photos of their charabanc outings.
He died in 1939, aged 69, long before Pauline was born. “He sounds quite a character,” she says. “I would love to have met him.”
An outing from one of the Old Skipper's clubs in the early 1930s to Croft Bridge
THE OLD SKIPPER: Fred Rayner, the photographer, in 1938
This is the strangest photo in the Old Skipper's album: it's like Gilbert and George. Was it taken in a Darlington club?
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here