Collingham is a village in the beautiful Lower Wharfe valley in Yorkshire, some two miles from the market town of Wetherby. From the earliest of times it was an important crossing point of the River Wharfe, with a ford which continued in use until the arrival of the railway which disrupted the ford and required the building of a road bridge between Collingham and the neighbouring village of Linton.

The parish church of St Oswald’s dates from the 12th century but the discovery of two Saxon crosses in the church yard, and now displayed in the church, suggests Christian worship on this site from the 9th century.

The census of 1871 records that there are 72 houses in the village of Collingham and Compton, the small hamlet set up on the hill above Collingham, housing a population number 326. The census shows that, at this time, Collingham was a traditional farming community with 85% 100 men of working age were engaged in agricultural work on villages’ six farms.

The railway arrived in Collingham in 1876 when a railway line was built by the North Eastern Railway from Leeds to Wetherby. With trains stopping in Collingham, and improvement to the Great North Road, it opened up travel to the wider area, and change was on its way.

When the census was taken in 1891 there were 62 houses occupied in Collingham and Compton. The work force of men remained the same as 20 years previously but with a reduction of 50% in the number engaged in agriculture. New work patterns were emerging with 13 men now working for the railway.

By 1911 the number of dwellings had increased to 125 and the work force had risen with 198 men of working age 125 working men and, for the first time, a very few, 5, women were employed in paid work apart from domestic posts. There were the same 7 farms in the villages, 5 in Collingham and 2 in Compton, but the number of agricultural workers had tumbled to just 39, 20% of the workforce. New work opportunities were emerging suggesting that villagers were now commuting to Leeds, and city workers were re-locating out of the grime of the city, particularly to the new homes built in close proximity to Collingham Bridge station.

With social change already gathering pace the impact of WW1 was enormous. With the men away the role of women moved out of the home and, for the first time women began to gain a degree of social and financial independence.

This is the background from which the project to look at the social impact of WW1 emerged.