THIS tranquil sunny view of the park at Sutton must have been taken soon after its opening in 1912.

The two girls on the seat on the left were called Hannah and Alice Cryer – Hannah was to become the mother of Eric Stow of Wilsden, who supplied the photograph.

Sutton Park was created on land left to the community by John William Hartley, of Sutton Hall, who died in 1909, with James Bairstow giving an adjoining area for a recreation ground. Other features included a bowling green and a caretaker’s lodge.

A maypole was added in 1922 and eight lime trees to commemorate the Coronation of George VI in 1937.

In 1984 the Sutton local historian, the late Doris Riley, published One of the Gems, a history of Sutton Park. She tells how in 1919 it was allocated a Great War trophy in the shape of a German field gun. “Sited near the paddling pool,” she observed, “children had great fun climbing over it.”