This very first issue of the British Deaf Times as Vol. 1, Issue 1 [bound in a hardback book] was edited by Joseph Hepworth and George Frankland and published in December 1903.
Why was The British Deaf Times published?
From 1889 to 1903 there was an unbroken line of magazines for the Deaf before The British Deaf Times appeared. The British Deaf and Dumb Times was first published in June 1889, edited by Charles Gorham (1861-1922), a Deaf man from Leeds (who later became the first General Secretary of the British Deaf and Dumb Association). This became the Deaf Chronicle in the autumn of 1891 and was re-named The British Deaf-Mute and Deaf Chronicle in November 1892. The name changed yet again in October 1896 to British Deaf Monthly before it was known as The British Deaf Times from December 1903 until December 1954 when it was merged with Deaf News.
By 1954 The British Deaf Times and Deaf News had become two very similar magazines, both with large circulations, so it was decided to merge these two magazines into one, to be titled British Deaf News (also known as BDN) under the sponsorship of the British Deaf and Dumb Association.
Who was the editor Joseph Hepworth?
Born in Wakefield, Joseph Hepworth (1865-1921) was for a long time The British Deaf Times proprietor and editor. He lost his hearing when he was eight, but retained his speech. He also suffered from the additional problem of being almost blind but fortunately his blindness went. Joseph’s father George had a business making boilers. Joseph never went to a deaf school. When he was 22 he met a deaf house-painter and, knowing the manual alphabet, Hepworth conversed with him. “The Deaf man asked him which school he went to and this surprised Joseph, as he was 26 unaware that there were many other deaf persons around; he often assumed there were no more than a dozen deaf people in the whole of Britain!” This meeting led him to be more involved with people in the deaf community. Moving to Leeds, his eyes were opened to the educational needs of the deaf and he began to work for the missioner Mr Moreton. After his association with Moreton Joseph became an assistant missioner to the Bolton and District Deaf and Dumb Society. Then In 1896 he was appointed as Missioner to the Glamorgan and Monmouth Mission, with which he continued until his death.
His journalistic career ran alongside his mission work. He began on the Deaf Chronicle with colleagues A.M. Cuttell, Charles Gorham, H.B. Beale and E.A. Kirk then the British Deaf Mute, which became The British Deaf Monthly and finally in 1902 The British Deaf Times. He married a deaf lady, but little is known of her. He passed away in July 1921 at the age of 51 years and is buried in Cardiff Cemetery. 3 Peeps into the Deaf World by W. R. Roe.
Photograph of Joseph Hepworth in Peeps into the Deaf World, p.343-5 (illus.)
