The West Farleigh & District Sparrow and Rat Club: From the Papers of the Hon. Henry A. Hannen d. 1933

In Presenting my Annual Report, I am pleased to state that the members have again done good work by destroying 1192 Sparrows, 657 Rats, 33 Bullfinches, 134 Moles, 879 Blackbirds, 1301 Queen Wasps, 1854 Butterflies, 13 Stoats and 9 Jays.

So wrote Mr. L. J. Costen, Hon. Secretary, and later Chairman, for the West Farleigh and District Sparrow and Rat Club in March, 1917. Sparrow and Rat clubs were a common feature of rural life from the 18th Century until after the First World War, when they declined in most places. The aim of the clubs was district-wide pest control and they offered the incentive of prizes per catch.

As pests, rats need no introduction, but the hostility towards the Sparrow may be surprising. House Sparrows were then more numerous than they are today and their liking for grain and young blossoms and the damage they caused to ricks and thatch caused them to be viewed as pests alongside rats. In order to protect crops from their ravages boys were often employed as bird-scarers. During the Victorian era some farmers embraced modernity by starting to use grain poisoned with arsenic or strychnine as a deliberate measure to reduce the bird population. However, this soon caused controversy.

Concerns were raised over the way poison caused indiscriminate killing of birds and unfortunate side-effects were also being noticed, such as plagues of caterpillars and other insects when birds were less numerous. In addition there were accidental deaths of domestic animals.

The Sparrow Clubs were a more respectable face of pest control and their activities were endorsed by a Leaflet published by the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, Leaflet No. 84, published in 1903, and revised January 1916. A 1916 leaflet is found in the papers of Henry A. Hannen. The leaflet puts the case very plainly: “While no one wishes to exterminate the sparrow, it is generally agreed that any good it may do in destroying harmful insects is so greatly outweighed by the damage done to crops, that a reduction in its numbers is as necessary as in the case of rats, or of any other destructive pest.” The leaflets emphasised that small birds were not to be persecuted indiscriminately. It proceeds to give instructions on how to reduce the sparrow population by destroying eggs and nests, netting or shooting sparrows. The formation of a Sparrow (and rat) club is recommended in order to involve a whole district in the task and a proposed set of rules is set out.

The rules for The West Farleigh and District Sparrow and Rat Club, which was founded in 1903, follow those of leaflet No. 84 closely, although they widened the scope beyond sparrows and rats. The club had its headquarters at the White House in West Farleigh, where the heads of the catch were to be brought on the first Wednesday in each month between 7 and 8pm for the tally to be made. In 1917 the club had eight honorary members, Mr. R. Munn, B. Small, C. Hickmott, G. Poile, G.C. Froud, L. Costen, A. Fuller and E. Munn, who were exempt from bringing heads, and 22 working members. A pub seems to have been the usual meeting place for such groups.

The Sparrow Clubs made announcements in the local papers, and most information on them seems to derive from these. An undated example announcing the catches of the West Farleigh group is among the papers using the more colloquial title of ‘The Loyal Tickle Back, Jack Sparrow and Mole Club’. The clubs appear little studied, perhaps because their activities are not congenial to modern sensibilities. Concerns for feeding the nation during the First World War may have added extra impetus to the Sparrow Clubs, but there are signs of changing perspectives. In his notes

Hannen expressed unease at the killing of Bullfinches, Blackbirds and Butterflies, and an R.S.P.B. leaflet from March 1917 found among Hannen’s papers sought to highlight the benefits of birds to the farmer as a natural form of insect pest control.

The White House, headquarters of the Club

The West Farleigh & District Sparrow and Rat Club

RULES

1. The Name of the Club shall be “The West Farleigh & District Sparrow and Rat Club,” and includes the parishes of West & East Farleigh, Hunton, Teston and Barming.
2. Headquarters the White House, West Farleigh.
3. Members to be elected by Committee. Committee to meet not less than once a month.
4. Committee to consist of 10, including Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary, 3 to form a quorum.
5. Each Member to pay following annual Subscription—Holders of over 100 acres, not less than 5/-; less than 100 acres, not less than 2/6. Working Members 6d. Honorary Members shall be exempt from bringing heads.
6. Heads to count—Bullfinch 4 points, Sparrow 1, Rat 2, Green Linnett 1, Stoats 5, Jays 4, Moles 2.
7. Fines to be ¼d. per point for all short, allotted by Committee.
8. No birds or rats shall count unless they are taken in the Parishes mentioned in Rule 1. Any Member infringing this Rule shall be fined 5/-
9. Members found smoking in Stackyards or on any premises whilst catching sparrows or rats, or loading shot guns with ordinary paper instead of stout wads shall be disqualified from all prizes.
10. The balance at the end of the season shall be divided amongst the working Members, according to the number of points obtained during the season.
11. Heads to be brought to headquarters, strung and labelled, on first Wednesday in each month, between the hours of 7 and 8 p.m.
12. An Annual Meeting shall be held at the White House, West Farleigh, on the first Wednesday in April, at which the Accounts shall be audited, the funds divided in accordance with Rule 10, officers appointed for succeeding season and any other business connected with the Club transacted.
13. Season to commence the beginning of October, ending last day of March. Subscriptions to be paid to the Hon. Secretary.

L. J. Costen, Chairman.
A. Wright, Treasurer.
R. Munn, Hon. Secretary.