100 years ago: Fred the Polar Bear made Darlington his home

THE big game collection of the late Sydney Pearson, “which includes specimens of animals and other curios obtained during prolonged expeditions principally in the Polar regions and Soudan”, was being transferred to the Darlington museum in Tubwell Row, the D&S Times reported 100 years ago this week.

“Mr Pearson, who died following an illness contracted abroad, was well known in the Richmond district although, accompanied by his wife, he spent most of his life in adventurous big game hunting,” said the paper, explaining how the museum came to own its best known exhibit: Fred the Polar Bear.

“There are nearly 300 exhibits, mostly heads of animals, practically all of which were shot by Mr and Mrs Pearson,” continued the report. “The feature of the collection is a buffalo head reputed to be the second largest in the world, and there are also the heads of Polar bears, giant elands and white rhinoceros, a large number of Soudanese curios and 108 photographs illustrating travel scenes.”

A campaign had begun in Darlington in 1917 to establish a museum, and donations had been sought. Mrs Pearson, who lived in Bellingham in Northumberland surrounded by dead bears, elands and rhinoceroses, was presumably keen to offload the collection – it would be great to know precisely what their connection to the Richmond area had been.

The museum opened later in 1921 in part of Clapham’s ropeworks and because of the Pearsons’ generosity, Fred the 9ft Polar Bear is still a well remembered exhibit (he may in his early days have been called Peter the Polar but certainly towards the end of the 20th Century, when generations of young hands had poked him, he was beginning to look a little threadbare).

When the museum closed in 1998, Fred ended up in the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum in Middlesbrough, where he is still on display. Capt Cook wrote of eating “white bears” which, he said, had a fishy taste.

An 1890s picture of St Cuthbert's Church, Darlington, from Tubwell Row. Bottom right is Ropery Walk and Clapham's ropeworks. Most of these buildings were removed soon after the picture was taken and the Boer War memorial is now on St Cuthbert's Green

The most curious story in the paper of 100 years ago concerned Miss Ada Linley’s successful prosecution of John Gibbons before the Under Sheriff for Yorkshire for breach of contract of marriage.

The couple, from Castleford, had been courting since 1909, and when Gibbons left the Army in September 1919, they had become engaged, although Gibbons often postponed the date of the wedding. In January 1920, Ada, a nurse, had given birth to their daughter.

The jury, in Leeds, awarded Ada £250 damages as Gibbons had failed to complete the journey down the aisle.

“The closing of the case was marked by a very human little incident,” said the D&S. “The foreman of the mixed jury, upon receiving the 12 shillings jury’s fees, said the members of the jury would like to hand it over to the plaintiff to buy a present for her child. Miss Linley expressed pleasure with the gift, and thanked the members for their kindly act.”