Billeting

Map of Luton c.1916. Red and blue shading shows areas allocated for billeting [WW1/VA4/2/1]

Tuesday 18th August 1914 (Luton): Billeting officers have been round Luton finding places for Territorials who are being billeted in the town. Some of the soldiers have been placed in public buildings and others are being sent to private houses. Most people are happy to help, but a few have tried to avoid billeting men despite having plenty of room. One woman told the officer who visited her she could not take any soldiers as her children were suffering from measles. When he mentioned this at the next house, he was told by the occupant that her neighbour had no children! The billeting officer then marked the offender down as a billet for six, telling her that he had six men who had just had measles so would not be at risk of catching them from her family. Anyone who provides a billet gets paid three shillings for an officer and nine pence for a soldier. The soldiers are doing their own catering, but there are also fixed payments for any meals provided by the house owner.

Source: Luton News 20th August 1914