Bed of Straw (D.McFarlane)
In the Yorkshire Evening Post publication 'Memory Lane Volume Two' I saw a photo of two skulls and read the
accompanying paragraph which stated....
‘In Crown Court, an alleyway between Kirkgate and the Corn Exchange in Leeds there are two stone skulls set high on a wall of a former stable. These are to commemorate two men who were press ganged (crimped) into the army at the time of the Peninsula war (1803-14). They were locked overnight in a stable where they sank, all too comfortably, into a bed of straw and suffocated’. Further research revealed….
They were asphyxiated by the ammonia gas given off by the rotting hay and the military authorities had the skulls carved and placed on the building “pour encourager les autres” The stone skulls, once on the walls on Ion Dyson Ltd, were removed in 1974 when the firm moved to
Buslingthorpe and they incorporated them in the wall there, two miles out, and to rather an inappropriate setting and location in my opinion!


You revellers, drink your beer rally round, come listen to me
Come over and lend an ear it’s all of a bed of straw
Two travellers came to town rally round, come listen to me
In a tavern did sit down by the fire to keep warm

Ch. God bless this army, God bless this war
God bless the sergeant for he gave ‘em a bed of straw

To Leeds they came that day rally round, come listen to me
Lookin’ for work, somewhere to stay, hungry and weary and cold
Suddenly up a shout rally round, come listen to me
Hurry on boys ‘Crimpers’ about , some of ‘em comin’ this way

Jump up boys, it’s time to go rally round, come listen to me
The sergeant says ‘You’ve been too slow, we’re lookin’ for fellas like you.
We need you in foreign lands rally round, come listen to me
He’s pressed a shillin’ into their ‘ands, nothin’ these fellas could do

From Kirkgate they were marched a-right rally round, come listen to me
Locked in a stable for the night, all on a bed of straw
They left ‘em with ale and bread rally round, come listen to me
Says Jack ‘At least we’re warm and fed, the King’ll take care of us now’

Mornin’ come they found ‘em there rally round, come listen to me
They’d sunk right in, were lost for air, all in a bed of straw
Now high on a wall is found rally round, come listen to me
Two skulls of stone starin’ down, look for a bed of straw

http://www.duncanmcfarlane.com/songs.htm