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The village of Golcar in West Yorkshire shows us how, as in many other towns and villages in 1920, the transatlantic Mayflower tercentenary manifested in highly localised ways.
Golcar was home to a thriving non-conformist community and it was within that community that the Mayflower Pilgrims found their most ardent celebrants. The appetite for knowledge and information about the Mayflower voyage was high amongst these groups, so Golcar marked the tercentenary with an educational lecture by Rev. Joseph Gay. Proceedings began with an address by Mr F.W. Mallalieu MP, who actually undertook far more of the sermonising that the Rev. Gay. Mallalieu appealed to his audience’s familiarity with biblical stories. Like lecturers elsewhere, he drew an analogy between the biblical patriarchs and elaborated on the lessons today’s parishioners might learn from a group of devoted believers willing to risk everything for their faith. Mallalieu expressed doubt that modern Christians would show the same fortitude, but he encouraged his audience to reflect on this heritage of sacrifice and pass it on to their successors. Following a round of applause, Rev. Gay gave “an interesting recital” of the Mayflower’s history, from the Pilgrims’ time in Holland to their settlement in Massachusetts.
This oratorical combination of piety and history was typical of a great many local events during the 1920 Tercentenary.