Records of Yorkshire Young Friends Campers

Minutes, 1929-1946 (1 vol.) [O 59]; including accounts; Private ledger, schedules and accounts, 1928-1939 (1 vol. & 1 bundle) [TT 18-19]; Camp albums and log books, for Hawes, Wensleydale, Sinnington, Fylingdales, Aysgarth, Runswick Bay, Laverton, Low Row, Reighton, Wharfedale, Kildale, Langdale End, Wharfe, Gillamoor, Gunnerside and Firbank, 1924-1939 (15 vols.) [TT 21-35]; Box of slides of camps, 1922-1937 [TT 36]; Lantern slides of various Yorkshire and Quaker related subjects, [1920s/1930s] (2 sets) [TT 37-38]; Typescript account of SYBS by John W. Scaife, 1974 [TT 20]

After the death of John Wilhelm Rowntree in 1905, a conference at Scalby organised by some of his friends proposed to spread the Quaker message by travelling on foot through Yorkshire. These journeys became known as 'Quaker tramps' and in the years leading up to the First World War, tramps took place in Wensleydale, Nidderdale, and the Pateley Bridge, Osmotherley, Pickering and Whitby areas. After the war, activity revived on the intiative of the Yorkshire 1905 Committee and a camp was held in Carperby, Wensleydale in 1922. Camps were then held on an annual basis until 1939, with numbers attending ranging from 24 to 60, drawn mainly from the Yorkshire and Durham Young Friends and including many visitors from overseas. Camps were held in many locations in the Yorkshire Dales and North Yorkshire Moors. The campers' motto was 'Smile you beggars, smile', which, abbreviated to SYBS, became a shorthand for the movement itself.

The records are numbered and arranged according to the system used when they were in Carlton Hill Meeting House

The conditions of deposit include a clause requiring written prior permission from a Friend Custodian for access to consult current legal documents and any material less than fifty years old

The collection of archives of the Society of Friends formerly held at the Friends Meeting House at Carlton Hill, Leeds

In English

Contents listed in Handlist 99, "Inventory of the records of Brighouse, Knaresborough, Leeds, and Settle Monthly Meetings of the Society of Friends formerly preserved at the Friends Meeting house, Carlton Hill, Leeds", 2nd edition, 1997

As with access, the photocopying of current legal documents and any material less than fifty years old requires the permission of a Friend Custodian

Related material in Leeds University Library: Records of Yorkshire Young Friends. Related material in other repositories: Records of Yorkshire Young Friends, Brynmor Jones Library, University of Hull

The records are deposited and remain the property of the Society of Friends