Early Life
John Rose Battley was born on 26 November 1880 to Adah Elizabeth Battley (née Maderson), a seamstress, and George Battley, a labourer who later opened a grocer's shop. His mother died in 1887 (in JRB's words) "due to working as a sempstress at her treadle sewing machine night after night into the early hours of the morning in order to help my father, who was a casual labourer, to provide their children with a fair share of bread and dripping for breakfast and tea, and boiled rice for dinner."
Battley attended the Basnett Road Elementary School, leaving aged 13 to become a printer's apprentice. He found this experience quite distressing, describing the "mischief done to my mind and soul as a lad" but later set up his own printing firm with his brother George in 1905. At a time when a week's holiday was standard in the printing trade, Battley Brothers offered a fortnight. In addition, they offered their employees a Sick & Funeral Fund, Endowment Fund, Hospital Savings Association, Study Circle, Staff Samaritans Fund, firm sports teams, pay that was higher than the trade union standard, Christmas boxes, a silver spoon to every baby, as well as going halves with employees on the cost of overalls and laundry.
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