The Marsh Family of Luton

Arthur Marsh (left) and Albert Marsh (right)

Wednesday 1st August 1917: An 19 year old Luton soldier has been dangerously wounded in the leg, just two days after returning from home leave. Private Arthur P. Marsh, the son of Mr and Mrs. George Marsh of 30 St Ann’s Road, Luton, is now in a base hospital in France with his leg broken by a piece of shell, but says he is “keeping on smiling”. Private Marsh was so anxious to join the Army that he enlisted in the Bedfordshire Regiment in 1914 aged just 16. He was previously wounded at Ypres, where he lost a finger.

Arthur is not the only member of the Marsh family to enlist while under age. His brother, Albert, now aged 18, fought at the Somme for four months before his age was discovered and he was sent back to England. He is now back in training with the Bedfordshire Regiment. Their elder brother George, aged 25, served in the Territorials for six years before the outbreak of war. He was initially rejected for Army service, but rejoined a year later. He is now in Egypt with the Norfolk Regiment and has recently been promoted to corporal. Before the war both George and Albert were employed by Messrs. Brown and Green Ltd.[1]

 

George Marsh senior (left) and George Marsh junior (right)

The brothers’ father, Mr. George Marsh served with the Colours for just over a year but was then discharged through medical unfitness. He now works at Messrs. George Kent Ltd. It seems the family inherited their patriotic instincts from their grandfather, who was a Crimean War veteran.

Source: Luton News, 2nd August 1917

[1] Sadly Albert and George did not survive the war. Albert died on 1st February 1918 and was buried at the Luton Church Burial Ground. Corporal George Marsh was killed on 11th December 1917 and was buried at Ramleh Cemetery near Tel Aviv in Israel.

Policemen as Soldiers

Police parade in Luton, c.1912 [Z1306/75/19/13]

Tuesday 5th June 1917: Two more Luton Borough police officers have volunteered for military service, bringing the total number who have left the Borough Force to serve in the army to fourteen. At the beginning of the War there were 52 police officers in Luton, and the increase in population means that figure should now have risen to 60, but only 36 are now available, including the Chief Constable. The County Divisional Force is also suffering from an acute manpower shortage. It should have a strength of 25 men, but ten have left for the army and two are absent through illness. There are no unmarried men left in either Force. Police Superintendent Panter has paid tribute to the work of the special constables; without their assistance it would be impossible for the police to carry out their work with so few officers.

Source: Luton News, 7th June 1917

News From Woburn

Royal Oak, Woburn c.1900 [Z50/135/66]

Monday 12th March 1917: Woburn has lost two more men to the War. The family of Christopher Robinson of Woburn has been notified that he has died while held by the Turks as a prisoner of war. Before the war he was India, and was sent from there to Mesopotamia. He was taken prisoner at Kut last year while serving with General Townsend’s force, and had not been heard of since.[1]  

The parents of nineteen year old Private Bert Indge have heard that their son was fatally wounded last month. They received the following letter from Private Berry, formerly the licensee of the Royal Oak at Woburn:

“I feel I must write and tell you how sorry I am for your loss. Bert was in the same company as I, so that I used to see him every day. I shall miss him very much, as he was the only one from Woburn in the battalion beside myself. He was a good lad and was always cheerful, and his Sergeant, who was killed the same day, always spoke well of him. I was not in the fight myself, as I have been one of the company cooks since Christmas, but I saw Bert’s mates when they came out. They told me he did not suffer any pain, and that he died with a smile, and I hope it may be some consolation to you know that he died happy.”

At the Woburn Cottage Hospital Rifleman Thomas Bramall, a Warrington man serving with the King’s Royal Rifles, has succumbed to his injuries. His foot had been amputated, but he recovered enough to be able to get out again. However, septic poisoning set in and he died with his parents at his bedside. The Duke and Duchess of Bedford have sent them their sympathy.

Two more Woburn men have answered their country’s call this month. William Cook, who has been through a training course at Ampthill Camp and has now reached the age of eighteen, and Mr. Fred Clapham, the rural postman for Eversholt and Tingrith.  has joined the army. His postal duties are now being carried out by two young ladies from Woburn.

Sources: Luton News, 8th and 15th March 1917; Leighton Buzzard Observer, 20th March 1917

[1] Christopher Robinson died on 6th September 1916, and is buried at the Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery in Iraq.  

Dunstable Man Passed From Pillar to Post

High Street South, Dunstable 1915 [Z1130/36/116]

Sunday 11th June 1916: Due to a strange chain of events a young man from High Street South, Dunstable, has been charged at Luton with being an absentee from the Royal Highlanders. Russell Bliss had joined the Royal Highlanders in May and was sent to Perth. After being at Perth for three days he was transferred to the Royal Navy and sent to Portsmouth. When he arrived there he was kept in barracks for three days, without being sworn in or given a uniform. Fed up with this treatment he broke out of barracks. He was arrested by the naval police, but when they discovered he had not been sworn in he was discharged and given a railway pass to Bedford.

Bliss then went home to Dunstable, only to find that his calling-up notice had arrived requiring him to report himself, which he did on Thursday morning. He was sent again to Bedford; the authorities there sent him back to the recruiting office at Luton, from where he was handed over to the police. He was then remanded until yesterday, when the Chief Constable told the magistrates that he had received the following telegram from the Commanding Officer at Perth: “Bliss was accepted by the naval recruiter, and therefore, I have nothing to do with him”. The Magistrate’s Clerk pointed out that he should not be treated as a deserter, as “he has evidently been bandied about from pillar to post. Apparently he is anxious to do something for his country, and no one seems to have helped him”. It was agreed that he should go back to the recruiting office and report himself, and that would be an end to the matter.

Source: Leighton Buzzard Observer, 13th June 1916

Able-Bodied Men

Stag's Head, corner of Wing Rd and Old Rd, Linslade c.1906 [Z50/74/28]

Sunday 12th December 1915: As Lord Derby’s recruitment scheme draws to a close a soldier who was billeted in Linslade with the Somerset Light Infantry last winter has written to remind us why it is so important that all those men who are able to do so should enlist:

“I am glad to say I am in very good health considering the weather we have had since we have been here, now nearly two months. We are in the trenches at present, we do [censored] days in and as many out, but while out we get rest at night, but work in the trenches by day. It is very bad up here owing to the rain; it’s nothing but water and mud. You get simply plastered from head to foot, but you soon get used to it. We are all as bright as can be because we know we are on the side of right, and any man that is a man at all, that could see what it is like for the poor people out here, would pray to God that it may never happen to loved ones at home or England. It’s terrible for them; they are like hunted rats, they never know when a shell will upset their little home. This is the place for all able-bodied men, to keep the war this side of the Channel.”

One Linslade family has certainly done its share in contributing to the defence of the country. Joseph Woolhead has become the sixth son of Joseph and Sarah Ann Woolhead of 48 Old Road to join the Forces. Joseph, who emigrated to Canada some years ago, has enlisted in the Canadian Field Artillery. His brothers Edward and Lewis are in the infantry, Ernest is attached to the Army Service Corps, and Albert and Walter are in the Navy.

Source: Leighton Buzzard Observer, 14th December 1915

Leighton Buzzard Father of Twelve Enlists

Mill Road, Leighton Buzzard [CR-PH]

Thursday 13th October 1915: After several failed attempts to enlist James Cox of Mill Road, Leighton Buzzard has been accepted into the 3/3rd West Riding Royal Field Artillery, one of the units currently stationed in the town, and has been appointed orderly to Major Nash. Private Cox is a father of twelve; three sons are serving in the British army and his eldest is believed to have enlisted in Australia.[1] Two of his sons were recently wounded taking part in the charge of the 1/5th Bedfords at Gallipoli. One of these, Corporal James Cox, worked as a van man for Messrs. Pillar and Co. before the war; he was well-known in local junior football circles and wore the colours of Leighton Town on a number of occasions. He was hit in the right hand by a bullet and is now at Netley Hospital. Corporal Cox’s brother Charles received a shrapnel wound in the right thigh and is also in hospital. The third soldier brother is Sapper Harry Cox who is training at Ampthill with the new division of the East Anglian Royal Engineers. There are six younger boys in the family who Private Cox believes are all likely to make good soldiers in the future.

Source: Luton News, 8th October 1915

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[1] James Cox was married to Margaret Kate, née Gotzheim, the British born daughter of the German landlady of the Crown Public House in Leighton Buzzard.

Artillery Training School at Leighton Buzzard

Horse drawn artillery, 1914 [Z1306/12/5/16]

Monday 26th July 1915: An artillery training school has opened at Pages Park in Leighton Buzzard and large numbers of men from the West Riding Territorial Artillery are arriving for training. Twenty reached the town on Wednesday, 230 on Thursday. 250 more yesterday, with further arrivals expected imminently. Their horse-drawn gun carriages are attracting considerable attention in the local streets. The soldiers have been billeted as near to the park as possible in Stanbridge Road, Dudley Street, South Street and the surrounding area. It is expected that Leighton Buzzard will become a large and important training centre. The commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Russell, has applied to the Urban District Council for permission to erect the following buildings: central dining rooms and kitchens, recreation and lecture rooms, harness and saddlery rooms, ablution and bath rooms and latrines for 1500 men. He also homes to get approval from the War Office to add hut barracks for 1500 men and 300 horses. The buildings are likely to occupy 10 to 12 acres out of the 17 acres which make up Pages Park. The Chairman of the Council believed that sufficient water could be supplied, and the military authorities were asked for assurances that they would meet all the costs involved in providing sanitary arrangements.  

The opening of the training school opens up the possibility of enlistment for men who have so far been ineligible for military service due to their age or inability to pass the medical examination. They can apply to join the military for home service and are needed to act as officers servants, storemen, grooms and so on. Any many who joins the army and continues to live at home will receive the billeting allowance of 3s 4½d per day in addition to his soldier’s pay; anyone acting as an officer’s servant will be given additional allowances increasing the total weekly wages to between 30 and 35 shillings. Men who enlist for home service fill vital roles and by doing so release younger and able-bodied men for service at the Front. Anyone interested in enlisting can obtain further information from the Recruiting Officer in Market Square.

Source: Leighton Buzzard Observer 27th July 1915

Biggleswade Does Its Bit

Royal Engineers Signals Section leave Biggleswade, 1915 [Z1306/16/36/5]

Thursday 29th April 1915: News has reached us of the contribution being made to the war effort in Biggleswade. Men from the town continue to join the Forces and the Roll of Honour for the town now includes a total of 338 men. Those who have joined the Forces this month include:

• John Day, son of Mr. John Day of the Olney Arms (an old Militiaman) has joined the 3rd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment.
• John Green, formerly licensee of the Shoulder of Mutton has joined the Army Service Corps as a driver.
• G. Cooper, A. Munns and A. Kefford have all enlisted with the Northern Signal Company of the Royal Engineers and have gone to Leeds for preliminary training. The Northern Signal Company were billeted in the town and left on Saturday 10th April, sent on their way by the cheers of 3,000 people and the music of the Town Silver Band.
• Mr A. Cartwright of 12, Sun Place, joined the 5th (Reserve) Battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment and has gone to Newmarket.
• Cyril Burton, the second son of Mr. Charles Herbert Burton, Honorary Secretary of the Unionist Club and the Unionist Association, has joined the Royal Navy as Boy, 2nd Class. He is the third Biggleswade lad to join the Navy since the beginning of the war, following Stanley Chivers (whose father and brother have also enlisted to serve their Country) and Fred Wells.

Inevitably there have been casualties from the town. Nineteen year old Private Alfred Lovett of the Bedfordshire Regiment is home on sick leave. He has been at the Front with the 2nd Battalion since the beginning of October and has been wounded three times, once in each arm and once in the shoulder. At Neuve Chapelle he was shot through the forearm with shrapnel and was sent to Manchester Hospital for treatment. Corporal Henry Gray of the 1st Battalion has written home to his brother, Mr. William Gray of Cromwell House, telling him he was wounded in the thigh by a shell splinter at Hill 60 and is now in hospital at Oxford. Private Charles Day and Private Sam Bilcock, also of the 1st Bedfords, are both prisoners of war in Germany and have written home asking their parents to send them some bread, butter and cake. Two of Private Day’s brothers are serving at the Front, and a third brother died while on army service in India. In happier news Private Albert Millard of Luton and Miss Lottie Brown of Sun Street were married at Biggleswade Parish Church on Saturday. The bride’s father, Mr. Tom Brown, is an old Militiaman and her brother Charles helped the 2nd Bedfords to repel the Prussian Guard at Ypres in October and has been wounded twice. The bride wore a fawn tweed costume, and a white straw hat trimmed with white silk and orange blossom.

The stay of the Royal Engineers in the town has been commemorated by the gift of a solid silver communion chalice and paten to the Parish Church. It is of Tudor Gothic design, inlaid with moonstones, and is inscribed: “Presented to the Parish Church, Biggleswade, by the officers and men of the Northen Signal Service Training Centre, Royal Engineers. Easter, 1915”. The town’s Belgian guests are also grateful for the support of the Biggleswade people. Monsieur Henri Bals has expressed his thanks on behalf of his family. Three of the children are attending the Council School, where they appear to have settled in happily.

Source: Bedfordshire Standard April 16th and April 30th 1915

Facts and Figures

Leighton Buzzard War Memorial 1930 [Z50/72/153]

Tuesday 26th January 1915: The south-western area of the county is certainly doing its bit in terms of contributing men to the serve in the army and navy. Numbers change all the time, but the most up-to-date figures for enlisted men from each town and village in the area surrounding Leighton Buzzard are as follows:

• Leighton Buzzard - 312
• Linslade -110
• Toddington- 106
• Heath and Reach - 89
• Woburn - 85
• Aspley Guise - 65
• Eaton Bray - 38
• Ridgmont - 39
• Eversholt - 29
• Woburn Sands - 25
• Totternhoe - 20
• Husborne Crawley - 19
• Eggington - 14
• Aspley Heath - 14
• Hockliffe - 14
• Lidlington -14
• Milton Bryan -11
• Potsgrove - 10
• Tilsworth - 8
• Billington - 7
• Stanbridge - 5

This gives a total of 1034 men serving their country for this small area of the county alone.

Source: Leighton Buzzard Observer and Linslade Gazette 26th January 1915

Luton Town Footballers Enlist

Luton Town Football Club, 1908-9 [Z1306/75/21/5]

Wednesday 16th December 1914: Yesterday morning two wing forwards from Luton Town Football Club, Hugh Pierce Roberts and Frank Lindley, attended a meeting of professional footballers at Fulham Town Hall. At the end of the meeting they were among the first to enlist in the new Footballers’ Battalion; so many others followed that extra recruiting officers had to be called in to help.[1] A total of 35 men signed up and marched together to Chelsea Barracks. They were then given ten days’ leave at a rate of 2s 9d per day while on home service.

This morning in the dressing room Roberts and Lindley told their team mates about yesterday’s events. Six more Luton Town players have now gone to London by train to enlist. They are:

• John Dunn (back)
• Robert William Frith (half-back)
• T. T. Wilson (half-back)
• Arthur Harold Wileman (forward)
• Arthur Roe (forward)
• Ernest Simms (forward)

The men were accompanied to London by their trainer Billy Lawson, who already has two sons in the Territorials and would very much have liked to join up himself. When the players are called up they will go for training to Richmond. They will be allowed leave to play in their Club’s fixtures until the end of the season and will continue to receive their Club wages as well as their army pay.[2]

Source: Luton News 17th December 1914

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[1] The Footballers’ Battalion was the 17th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment.
[2] See Luton’s World War I: Great WarStories for more about the involvement of Luton Town players in the Great War.

Luton Lads Enlist

"Luton boys leaving Luton to enlist at St Albans, August 1914", Photo by Mr W H Cox, Luton, from Luton News Almanac, 1915 [Z1516/4]

Thursday 3rd September 1914, Luton: On Tuesday a group of twenty seven men from an engineering works in Luton went to Bedford to join Lord Kitchener’s army. Although they had telephoned to find out where to go and when, they arrived in Bedford only to find there was no medical doctor available to examine them and were told to go home and return the next day. Yesterday they tried again, with their group expanded by another would-be recruit, and twenty two out of the twenty eight were enrolled. Another group of lads from Luton went together to St Albans to enlist in the 24th City of London Rifles. All but two passed the medical test and they have signed up for four years of foreign service.

Source: Luton News 3rd September 1914