A CURIOUS point about the legend of the Long Man of Bollihope Fell was that nobody put a surname to its three main characters.

It started with an attractive maiden called Ellen and her brother Arthur, a tough young hunter, who lived with their elderly parents in a thatched cottage near the border of Weardale and Teesdale.

Arthur was well-known between Killhope and Stanhope for his skill at tracking deer. One day, a huge black-haired stranger, Hubert, arrived at the cottage seeking shelter from a storm. He said he had got lost on the moor.

The elderly couple gave him a meal and bed for the night, and said he could come back any time. He often did return, and Ellen became smitten with him.

Arthur suspected Hubert was up to no good, and was planning to steal anything he could. Then one night, the big man vanished with Ellen.

It was felt she would never have left her parents in this way, so it was suspected that Hubert had kidnapped her.

Before long, the heartbroken old couple died, and Arthur joined the army.

After a time, he heard Ellen had died, and he wanted to kill the man who had seduced her. Arthur was away for seven years, mainly overseas, before spotting Hubert trudging over Bollihope Moor. He fell into step beside him.

They walked in silence, before stopping to rest at the top of an incline.

There, Arthur revealed that he recognised the big man, said he had waited a long time for revenge, and challenged him to draw his sword.

Hubert claimed it was a case of mistaken identity. He knew nothing about Ellen, her family or the cottage.

But Arthur persisted, so the huge fellow drew his sword and lunged at him.

Arthur dodged out of the way and after a struggle, managed to inflict a chest wound from which his opponent fell dying.

Richard Watson related the legend in a long poem. He had Hubert confessing with these words:

Too long from duty’s path I’ve swerved
My fate is what I have deserved
In wickedness my life has passed
And like a wretch I die at last.

His body was found and buried next day. A stone was placed on the spot and others have been added over the years – and the supposed resting place of the Long Man of Bollihope still attracts visitors.

FOR about 100 years, soldiers have sung a rousing ditty, The Company Sergeant Major, during jolly gatherings. But many probably never realised that it was written by a hero who fought alongside hundreds of dalesmen in the 6th Durham Light Infantry during the First World War.

Captain Percy Lyon took part in several crucial battles in France and was twice awarded the Military Cross for bravery. But in his spare time, he wrote serious poetry, as well as that song, which became a favourite with troops.

It was meant as a tribute to CSMs, who had a fearful reputation for strict control but could inspire men in battle.

One verse runs:

But the fellow as strong as a blinkin’ ox
And as tough though a trifle sager
Is that ’oly terror of weak-kneed crocks
The Company Sergeant Major.

Soldiers often changed some words, inserting mostly unprintable ones.

A note on the original sheet music said the song could be performed in public without a fee, but any parodied version was strictly forbidden.

Ex-servicemen had just sung the number at a British Legion dinner in Barnard Castle after the war when Major Thomas B Heslop, a former commanding officer of the 6th DLI, surprised them by revealing who wrote it.

In fact, he was with Percy Lyon when he wrote the words during a lull in fighting.

Lyon also wrote a number of moving war verses and later became a notable award-winning poet, as well as headteacher of Rugby School.

But the song was the most popular of all his work.

It ends: And whenever the mud and shells are thick You’ll find that jolly old stager That fear-nothing scallywag, son of old Nick The Company Sergeant Major.

Percy Lyon was studying at Oxford, but when the war started, he left to enlist. He was wounded and taken prisoner by the Germans near the end of hostilities, but when dedemobbed, returned to the university to complete his degree course.

He married the daughter of William Richardson of Guisborough.

One of their three daughters, Elinor Lyon, became a well-known writer of children’s books.

Major Heslop was also a hero and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, just one rung below the Victoria Cross.

He was the son of John and Eliza Heslop of Barnard Castle. He was a 23-year-old clerk to his father, a solicitor, when he enlisted in 1914.

He attended a series of ceremonies in the dales afterwards to present awards, mainly the Military Medal, to soldiers who had displayed courage in battle.

He became the first president of Barnard Castle Angling Club in 1938.

WHEN it was announced that the Prince and Princess of Wales were coming to the dales, it was agreed they should be given a warm welcome.

Residents of Middleton planned to put up bunting and invite the village’s silver band to perform.

This was in the autumn of 1866, three years after Queen Victoria’s son Edward married Princess Alexandra of Denmark, one of the beauties of the age.

Dalesfolk were keen to see the couple and make it a colourful occasion.

But then it transpired they were to arrive not on a Saturday, as first suggested, but on a Sunday – so oh dear no, they couldn’t have street decorations and lively music. Church and civic leaders deemed that sort of merry-making wrong on the Sabbath.

It was an era in which there was no public entertainment on Sundays, most children were not allowed out to play and shops were closed. Inhabitants were advised to stand quietly and respectfully. The royal party travelled by train to Lartington, the farthest point reached by the railway, and then went by horse-drawn coach through Cotherstone, Romaldkirk and Mickleton to Middleton.

On the way, they stopped to look at the huge Lune viaduct, which was being built for the rail track that was being extended. The structure was getting a lot of public attention at the time.

At each village, residents turned out to see the royal guests passing.

A further stop was made outside the Rose and Crown at Middleton, where the prince and princess got down for a few minutes to smile and wave, while spectators applauded politely.

Then the couple moved on to High Force Hotel, where they and their entourage stayed for three nights.

The silver band played for the royal guests one evening. The prince enjoyed sport on the grouse moors, where he was praised for his skill with the gun, while his wife visited some dale gentry.

They must have appreciated the hospitality, for they returned in future years, both before and after the prince became King Edward Vll in 1901.

CHRISTINE RUSKIN’S film screenings, featuring her self-made 50-minute production on the disappearing farms of Weardale, are proving highly popular.

Some audience members have become excited at the sight of locations they know well, and intrigued at the mention of people they knew in the past.

There have been requests for her to go round some more with her camera.

Ms Ruskin pointed out that she put a lot of time and effort into making the film, so a quick follow-up is not really feasible.

However, there will doubtless be many requests for more showings.

The film is based on her book about the dale’s abandoned farms.