Blackberry Collection by Bedfordshire Schools

Blackberries [Image source: Wikimedia]

Tuesday 9th October 1917: About 120 Bedfordshire schools are taking part in  a scheme to collect blackberries which will be used to make jam for soldiers and sailors. Both children and teachers have been gathering blackberries enthusiastically, regardless of the weather. By the end of last week the county had collected nearly 25 tons of the fruit. The most successful schools last week were Eaton Socon and Cranfield, which each sent in over 7 hundredweight, Wootton with nearly 6 hundredweight, Toddington Voluntary and Council Schools with over 7 hundredweight between them, and Sharnbrook and Marston Moretaine with 5½  and 5 hundredweight respectively. Three small schools, at Pulloxhill, Pertenhall and Lidlington, deserve particular mention for sending over 2 hundredweight each.

Source: Bedfordshire Standard 12th October 1917

Mammoth Mushroom

Watercolour of mushroom, late 19th century [reverse of X265/1]

Monday 23rd August 1915: Private W. Wildman of the 5th Bedfords Supernumerary Company has made an unusual discovery at Sharnbrook. He has found a mushroom of extraordinary size. This fantastic fungus measures no less than fifteen inches across, has a diameter of 37¼ inches, and weighs a hefty 1 pound 11 ounces.

Source: Bedfordshire Standard 20 August 1915

Arrangements for Possible Hospital Evacuation

Aspley Guise School c.1916 [Z1306/3a/20/1]

Monday 22nd March 1915: This month there has been considerable correspondence between Major Stevens, the County Director of Bedfordshire Voluntary Aid Detachments, and the Commander-in-Chief of Eastern Command at Whitehall concerning arrangements to be made in the event of it becoming necessary to evacuate Suffolk hospitals to Bedfordshire due to invasion or bombardment. One proposal is to use school buildings as hospitals should the need arise. A report on the impact this would have on specific schools has been issued today:

Cardington: It would, I think, be possible to transfer the elder scholars to Willington School and the younger ones to Cople School. But this could possibly be avoided by the use of the Howard Reading Room for hospital purposes. I understand that it has been used by the local branch of the British Red Cross Society for their drills, etc.

Aspley Guise: Arrangements might be made to transfer the scholars temporarily to Aspley Heath School, but this would be a very long journey for some of the scholars, particularly the younger ones, and it is probably that some of them would be found to reside outside the bye-law distance of 2½ miles from Aspley Heath School. There is however at Aspley Guise a Parish Hall capable of seating 250 persons and there are good Institute premises at Aspley Heath; possibly these might be of use as Hospitals.

Biggleswade: In view of the present demand on the school accommodation it is doubtful whether any school premises could be granted for use as a hospital without entirely disorganising attendance at school. It is suggested that the Masonic Rooms should be utilised as before for hospital purposes.

Sharnbrook: It is very difficult to make arrangements for the transfer of scholars to other suitable premises. No other schools are available. There is, however, a large room which it is believed will be quite suitable for hospital purposes.

Goldington: Cannot transfer scholars to other schools. There is a good Reading Room which might be large enough for a hospital though it is not large enough to accommodate the scholars in attendance at the school.

Melchbourne: No other school premises available for transfer of scholars. The school is very small and would accommodate but few patients.

Kempston: Arrangements might be made to place the Rural School for use as a Hospital.

It seems clear from this report that any major scheme to locate hospitals in school buildings would create serious difficulties for educational arrangements in the county.

Source: WW1 Nursing Records [WW1/NU4]

Corporal Setchell Shot in the Head

Corporal A Setchell

Friday 12th February 1915: Corporal A. Setchell, formerly the police constable at Riseley, was present at the Sharnbrook Petty Sessions today where he was congratulated by the Chairman of the Bench on his return home. Corporal Setchell was serving with the Grenadier Guards at Le Bassee when he was wounded in the head. At about 9.30am on the 8th or 9th of January he was out on a sniping expedition, stationed in a small dug-out only about 35 yards from the German trenches with six comrades. He had “bagged” about six or seven Germans when someone spoke to him. He raised his head and a bullet came through the bank and hit him in the right side of his skull, where it embedded itself in the bone. Fortunately the bullet was partly spent by the time it reached him, but he was bowled over and lost consciousness.

As Corporal Setchell put it he “expected to wake up in heaven”, but when he did regain consciousness he found himself on a stretcher being taken to the field hospital. His first request was for a cigarette. Two days later he was removed to the base hospital, where the bullet was removed. From there he was taken to Southampton on the hospital ship Asturias, then to the Northern General Hospital at Leeds where he stayed for around a week before being allowed him. He has brought back with him a German belt as a souvenir. Out of Corporal Setchell’s platoon of 50 to 60 men, only six answered the roll call after the Battle of Ypres.

Source: Bedfordshire Standard 19th and 26th January 1915

Railway Tragedy at Sharnbrook

Private James Joseph Rothwell (centre) [from Bedfordshire Standard, 8th January 1915]

Thursday 7th January 1915:  An inquest was held today into the tragic death of Private James Joseph Rothwell, a National Reservist, who was hit by a train while guarding the railway at Sharnbrook Viaduct on Tuesday. Private Rothwell went on duty at 6am, together with Private Edward Fookes. At 9.30am Private Fookes saw Private Rothwell in the hut and warned him to be careful because the weather was very foggy. William Goodman, who was driving the 9.27 train from Bedford, said that before reaching Sharnbrook Bridge he blew the whistle. He glimpsed Private Rothwell at the side of the line, where he appeared to be in the act of stepping from the left rail. There was no time to stop and the engine struck the Reservist on his side. He was quickly taken by special train to Bedford, but died before arriving at the County Hospital. The cause of death was given as a fractured neck. It appears that Private Rothwell did not take sufficient care while on the line and it has been suggested that he had been bending over to put coal on the fire. The jury gave a verdict of accidental death.

Private Rothwell was called up for the National Reserve in November and had been on duty at Sharnbrook for a month. His thirteen years of service with the 2nd Middlesex Regiment included the war in South Africa where he took part in the Battle of Spion Kop. He received the Queen’s Medal with six clasps and the King’s Medal with two clasps. After leaving the Army he was a clerk at the Queen’s Engineering Works in Bedford where he lived at 10 Cromwell Road. He was an active Unionist and a street list man for the Borough Unionist Association. He leaves a widow and three small children.

Source: Bedfordshire Standard, 8th January 1915

Case Dismissed!

High Street, Sharnbrook, 1908 [Z1306/100/3/12]

Monday 9th November 1914: Miss Pepita Behrend of Sharnbrook appeared in court for the third time today. Her defending counsel stated that if it could be proved that she was born in this country then she was a naturalised subject. Her brother Michael Theodore Behrend, who had been a naturalised subject for 40 years, gave evidence on her behalf. He stated that he was born in 1852 and remembered 1864 when the whole of his family came to England. Pepita was born in 1865 at the residence of their grandmother in Seymour Street and subsequently lived at Clapham Common. His father returned to Germany only once, for a holiday in the 1870s, and lived in England until his death in 1890. He remembered his sister being baptised and believed the baptism certificate produced was hers. The Bench were satisfied with the evidence and the case was dismissed.

Source: Bedfordshire Times 13th November 1914

Miss Behrend Remanded

View from High Street to Church Lane, Sharnbrook  c.1920 [Z50/100/83]

Friday 30th October 1914: Miss Pepita Eleanora Henrietta Ottilia Behrend appeared at Sharnbrook Police Court for the second time today charged under the Aliens Orders 1914. One of the magistrates, Mr Stileman Gibbard, asked whether he should retire from the Bench as he was both Miss Behrend’s landlord and a personal friend; the prosecuting solicitor stated that he was happy for Mr Gibbard to continue. Miss Behrend’s counsel asked for the case to be remanded again to give him time to prove her place of birth. He had received a letter that morning from her brother, stating that he was prepared to give evidence that she was born in England.

The prosecutor explained that the issue was not whether Miss Behrend was a reputable person, but whether or not she was required to register as an alien. He agreed that no great importance should be attached to the fact that no record of her birth could be found as registration did not become compulsory until 1875 and his own birth had not been registered. He had found a baptism recorded at St Andrew’s Church, London for a Josephine Pepita Eleonora Ottilia Behrend, but as this was dated 8th March 1865 and her date of birth was 25th January 1865 it was still possible she had been born in Germany. As her brother was prepared to come and give evidence he agreed to a further remand and Miss Behrend was released on bail until Monday 9th November.

Source: Beds Times 6 Nov 1914

Miss Pepita Eleanora Henrietta Ottilia Behrend

Former police station and court at Sharnbrook, 2013

Friday 23rd October 1914: A long time resident of Sharnbrook appeared at the Petty Sessions today charged with failing to register as an enemy alien. After war was declared it was rumoured that Miss Pepita Eleanora Henrietta Ottilia Behrend was of German nationality. Police Inspector Bliss made enquiries and found she had left England for Berlin on 30th July to visit relatives. He heard on 23rd September that she had returned to Sharnbrook. He paid her a visit and told her she would need to register under the Aliens Order 1914 unless she could produce naturalisation papers. She showed him a passport signed by the American Ambassador in Berlin and told him that she had returned to England as a British refugee. She admitted to him that she had relatives in high positions in Germany, one of them a countess. He told her that the passport was not sufficient proof of her nationality. She said that her father had been German and her mother Hungarian, but that she herself had been born in Upper Seymour Street, London. Inspector Bliss told her that she would need to obtain her birth certificate as proof and she agreed to do this.

Inspector Bliss visited Miss Behrend again on October 21st. She had tried to obtain a birth certificate, but although a search had been carried out no birth had been registered between 1863 and 1867 which matched her details. There was supposedly a letter accompanying the results of the search stated that compulsory registration of births and deaths was not in force until 1875, but Miss Behrend had lost this. She suspected her parents had failed to register her birth. She had older brothers and sisters, all born in Germany before the family moved to England in 1864. She herself was the youngest and the only child to be born here, and her sister recalled being present at her baptism at a church in the parish of St George’s, Hanover Square. Her second brother had registered as an alien but her eldest brother was a naturalised Englishman. She herself had not bothered to take out naturalisation papers as she always understood she was born here and believed herself to be a British subject. She had not realised the gravity of her situation and had not taken any legal advice as she thought it was simply a matter of finding out where she was born.

The Chairman recommended that Miss Behrend should obtain legal advice and remanded her in custody for a week. She pleaded to be allowed to go home but initially was told this was outside the power of the Bench. After some discussion and after hearing that Miss Behrend had lived in Sharnbrook for over ten years and that local men of substance would vouch for her she was bound over to appear again the following week and released.

Source: Bedfordshire Times 30th October 1914

New Residents at Pear Tree Cottage

Pear Tree Cottage, Sharnbrook, 1912 (now 97 High Street) [Z1306/100/10/1]

Sunday 18th October 1914: Belgian refugees continue to be welcomed in Bedfordshire. A family named Everard arrived in Sharnbrook today where they have been lodged at Pear Tree Cottage with Miss Mary Christine Hutchison until an empty house can be found for them. Monsieur Everard was a tanner with a large business at Augarde, near Louvain. He owned a considerable amount of property which has all been burned, with the exception of a few cottages at Antwerp. Several of his friends have been killed and the women and children dreadfully mutilated. He is accompanied by his wife, his son, his sister, and their maid Hortense. Another son is now living in Dorset with his two children. Hortense has brothers fighting with the Belgian Army, but has not heard from them since the outbreak of war. Monsieur Everard junior is being given English lessons by Mr John Edward Prince Evans.

Source: St Peter’s Sharnbrook Parish Record Book, pp.56-57 [P112/28/6]

A Fight to the Finish

Sharnbrook Vicarage - this thatched building was pulled down in the year this card was postmarked, 1910 [Z1306/100/19/1]

Friday 2nd October 1914: The vicar of Sharnbrook, Mr Chetwode Ram, has written about the war in the parish newsletter this week, warning that the war may be a long one and will be a “fight to the finish”.

 “We must remember that when we pray for our sailors and soldiers we do not only pray that they may be protected from the special perils of war (wounds and sickness). They are be-set by other dangers besides these, and therefore we pray for those who are on service at home as well as at the front. We pray especially for young recruits, that God may guard them in the hour of trial and temptation, and keep them from all things hurtful to either soul or body. We shall pray especially for those patriotic young men who have left their homes and their work in Sharnbrook to serve their King and country. All honour to them. It seems as if this war will be a long one. Not until we have accomplished that for which we have taken up arms can we even wish it to come to an end. In the words of our King, “This is a fight to the finish.” So far we have done well. Our men have shown themselves to be heroes indeed. We trust in God and in them for the future..” 

There is also talk about the possibility of Sharnbrook getting a public water supply. The water is very hard and while those living in the old part of the village have plenty of water some of the newer houses do not have good enough wells and often suffer from lack of water.

Source: Sharnbrook Parish Record Book [P112/28/6]

Hit By A Train

Postcard commemorating the Sharnbrook rail accident of 4 February 1909 [Z1306/100/26/2]

Monday 28th September 1914, Sharnbrook: An unfortunate accident took place on the railway near Sharnbrook Station this afternoon. P.C.Stringer of Harrold was on guard at the Girder Bridge when he was hit by a light engine on its way from Bedford to Wellingborough as he stood by the goods line. He was thrown down the embankment on to the passenger line and had to be taken to the County Hospital badly injured. At least the accident was nowhere near as terrible as the dreadful disaster of 1909 - the express goods train from Manchester to London crashed into a stationary goods train at Sharnbrook Station and both the driver and fireman of the express were killed.

Source: St Peter’s Sharnbrook Parish Record, P112/28/6, p.55

Volunteers at Sharnbrook

Sharnbrook Council School, now John Gibbard Lower School.
© Bedfordshire and Luton Archive Service 2013

11th September 1914, Sharnbrook: A meeting was held at Sharnbrook school on Wednesday to provide information about the Soldiers and Sailors Families Association. As a result a committee has been set up to help local families who are in difficulties because of the war. 

Ten young men from the village have enlisted in the services this week. A roll of honour with the names of all volunteers from the village is to be put up in the Church porch.

Source: St Peter’s Sharnbrook Parish Record, P112/28/6, p.55.

National Day of Intercession

Knitted Soldier's Cap pattern [OR2343/8]

Friday 21st August 1914 (Sharnbrook): Today has been declared a National Day of Intercession to pray for the nation's soldiers and for a speedy end to the war. In Sharnbrook extra services are being held in the Church in the morning and evening. The village is intending to provide practical as well as spiritual aid for British soldiers. On Wednesday a meeting was held at the Church concerning Queen Mary’s Needlework Guild. As a result a working party has been set up which will meet in the Church Room to knit and sew items for soldiers and sailors, the sick and wounded and their families.

Source: St Peter’s Sharnbrook Parish Record Book, p.53-54 [P112/28/6]

Boy Scouts At Work

Officers of the Sharnbrook Division, 1920. Inspector John Wilfred Bliss, front row centre [QEV20/6]

Friday 7th August 1914 (Sharnbook): Inspector Bliss of the Sharnbrook police station has asked Boy Scouts from the villages to help the police by taking messages.[1] Four are to report to the station at 10 a.m., four more at 2 p.m. and another four at 6 p.m. Those with bicycles are to take them along. Many of the boys are already wishing they were old enough to join the army. No doubt they will feel that being a Boy Scout is the next best thing.

Source: Bedfordshire Times 7th August 1914

[1] The newspaper report says the Scouts were to report to the Police Superintendent, but at this time Sharnbrook’s senior officer was Inspector John Wilfred Bliss (Beats, Boots and Thieves, Des Hoar and Richard Handscomb, p.96). Boy Scouts were used across the county to take messages, run errands and guard premises.