Keighley's Old Contemptibles were regular soldiers and reservists who were the first men into battle against the German army in August 1914, they took part in the battles at Mons, Le Cateau, Aisne and Ypres between 5th August and 22nd November of this year. They were awarded the 1914 star with clasp and rose. The clasp which was attached to the medal ribbon had the dates above on it to signify that they had been there. The rose was on the medal ribbon, and signified the same thing when the medal was not being worn.
Keighley Old Contemptibles' Association was formed in 1938 and there is a large group photograph of most of their members from that time. We have copies of the branch records detailing the membership. We are still trying to identify all of the men in the large photograph which is available here in our digital archive. Please take a look to see if you can remember any of them.
For our work commemorating these men, and conserving Keighley's Old Contemptibles Association standard, see our pages on:
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