Objections to Conscientious Objector as Schoolmaster

Image: Westoning School, 2009 [CR/PH © Beds Archives]

Saturday 8th April 1916: At a meeting yesterday of the Bedfordshire Education Committee a deputation was present to object to appointment of a conscientious objector, Mr. R. R. Fordham, as headmaster of Westoning School, and the following resolution passed by the Flitwick group of School Managers was read:

“The local Managers of the Flitwick Group of Schools desire to protest against the appointment of Mr. Fordham as headmaster of Westoning School on the ground that he is a conscientious objector. They are of opinion that in the interest of the nation children should be taught their duty to the State, which includes the right of defending it against oppression, and that while parents and brothers are fighting for the state it is not advisable that children should be under the influence of a conscientious objector. They desire to point out that two names were submitted to them by Mr. Baines suitable for the vacancy of headmastership. They refused to recommend Mr. Fordham by reason of his being a conscientious objector. As they were doubtful whether the only other candidate was entirely suitable, not having had charge of a school, they recommend his appointment on trial. They do not see what other course was open to them. The Managers fail to see the usefulness of their continuing to act as Managers if their recommendations are disregarded.”

There was discussion as to whether the objection to Mr. Fordham was because he was a member of the Society of Friends [Quakers]. It was pointed out that the Managers did not object on religious grounds, but on patriotic grounds. The committee decided to invite both the deputation and Mr. Fordham into the room. Mr. Spensley, one of the managers from Westoning, said their objection was simply that at times like these such a person should not be sent to teach in any village school. In his view it was essential that the children should be taught patriotism, and that they should not have a man who would teach the children not to fight.

Mr. Fordham said he was 31 years old, was a member of the Society of Friends and a conscientious objector. He would never dream of teaching children not to fight for their country. He would not mind serving with the Friends’ ambulance unit, but would not serve under the military. The Rector of Blunham, where Mr. Fordham was currently teaching, had written stating that he had always acted loyally and within the traditions of the Church School. It was stated that there was no other position open to Mr. Fordham.  The Chairman of the Committee pointed out that Mr. Fordham had the right to conscientiously object, and another member said that no man should be penalised for holding opinions which were recognised in law.

The matter was referred back to the Committee for further consideration.

Source: Bedfordshire Standard 14th April 1916

A Flying Plague at Flitton

High Street, Flitton [Z1306/49/6]

Sunday 3rd October 1915: News from the Villages

Barton-le-Clay

More regular village arrangements have had to be cancelled or scaled back due to the war. The Harvest Festival will be limited to just thanksgiving services, with none of the usual festivities – no decorations, tea meetings, flower shows or other celebrations. Street lamps will not be lit this winter, so the usual collection made by the Parish Council to fund street lighting will not be made; funds still in hand will be kept for future use. The local Football Club have decided not to arrange any fixtures and to suspend playing the game indefinitely.

Gravenhurst

The village has joined in the National Collection of eggs for the sick and wounded thanks to the work of Miss Miller. The effort has been a great success. On a less happy note the village has been suffering from a plague of winged daddy-long-legs.

Flitton and Greenfield

A Roll of Honour for the parish has been presented to the Church by the Vicar and placed on the door. War slides are to be shown at the Parish Room on alternate Wednesdays, starting on October 6th. A collection is to be made at the door for comforts for our soldiers. Flitton has also been suffering from a flying plague, in this case of wasps and gnats. One wasp stung the oldest inhabitant of the village, Mr Charles Downing, senior.

Westoning

Mr Peppiatt has been wounded at the Dardanelles and has lost part of his lung. He was in hospital at Gosport before returning to Westoning on September 11th to recuperate. Mr George Gazeley has been wounded three times. He hoped to be able to come home last month but this has not been possible. He has been in the firing line virtually since the beginning of the war. Herbert W. F. Higgs has been promoted to leading mechanic in the Royal Naval Air Service.

Clophill

The Rector is now with his Division on Salisbury Plain and is expected to proceed to the Front within the next couple of months. The 1st/5th Bedfords have been fighting hard on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Fortunately no Clophill men are among those killed, but Corporal J. Lomas and Private E. Eddy are among those wounded. Corporal G. Whittamore of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers has been home on leave. His wound, which had previously been giving much trouble, has now healed satisfactorily and he expects to be leaving shortly for service in France or the East. Private S. Webb of the King’s Royal Rifles returns to his regiment today after a short leave. He came straight from the trenches at La Bassée and has been in the firing line since November.

Silsoe

Two of the Silsoe men serving in the Dardanelles, Charles Browning and Ben Mann, have been wounded; fortunately neither suffered wounds of an exceptionally severe nature, although Charles Browning lost an eye and Ben Mann has been wounded twice. Both have been brought back to England for treatment.

Source: Monthly Magazine for the parishes of Barton-le-Cley, Clophill, Flitton and Greenfield, Gravenhurst, Silsoe, Westoning, October 1915 [P21/30/17]

News from the Villages

Clapham Road Infants School class celebrates Empire Day, 1906 [Z912/21(18)]

Monday 7th June 1915: News from theVillages

Barton-le-Clay

A tea was given last month for the Belgian refugees of the district. About fifty, with friends, attended. As it was a fine day there were various pastimes in the gardens and the afternoon ended with a concert by the brass band. A vote of thanks was given by Mr. C. Marien, who gave a graphic description of their flight from Antwerp and the trials they had undergone on their way to England. He hoped that when the Germans have been evicted the band would come to Antwerp and take part in the celebrations. As the village correspondent says “how extraordinary it seems to write the above. If anyone had predicted a year ago that we should have been entertaining Belgian refugees at Barton, it would have seemed incredible”.

Clophill

The Cricket Club has decided to not play regular fixtures this season due to the war, though it is hoped that some scratch games may be arranged with so many soldiers around. Bert Royston, who has often helped the village team, went to the Front with the Canadian Scottish and has been taken prisoner.

Flitton and Greenfield

As the school was closed for Whitsuntide on Empire Day, May 24th, the children celebrated it early on Friday 21st. Prizes were given out by the Vicar, there were songs and flag-waving and a speech given by Miss Leach. Each child brought in one penny in order to send tobacco, chocolate and other comforts to our soldiers and sailors who are “fighting the greatest fight for honour and freedom the world has ever known.”.

Gravenhurst

The children of Gravenhurst also celebrated Empire Day on 21st May, when they saluted the flag, sang the National Anthem, and marched into the schoolroom singing patriotic songs. They were then given a half-day holiday.

Silsoe

Eggs are still being collected weekly for the wounded soldiers at Wrest Hospital and delivered to the hospital every Thursday by the Misses Jones. The eggs are much appreciated but they are currently being provided by only a small number of people and an appeal has been made for more parishioners to donate. The authorities at Wrest say they can make good use of as many eggs as the village can send them. Every little helps, even one egg a week!

Westoning

Forty three men who are either from this parish or closely connected with it have now joined the armed forces. Sergeant G. Gazely has been at the Front since the  beginning of the war and has now been wounded for a second time. 

Source: Monthly Magazine for the parishes of Barton-le-Cley, Clophill, Flitton and Greenfield, Gravenhurst, Silsoe, Westoning, June 1915 [P21/30/17]

News from the Villages

Greenfield School Boy Scout Troop c.1910

Sunday 7th March 1915: Barton-le-Clay

Mr Pike, who has been acting as interpreter for the Belgian refugees who  now been installed in the Mill House at Barton. He describes them as “unassuming simple folk, they appear to take their tribulation very light-heartedly, in spite of the heavy blow which has fallen upon them”. They were driven out of Antwerp on 9th October by a German incendiary bombardment which forced them to run for their lives. They spent two months in Holland before reaching England on 8th January. Those who contribute to their upkeep are in a small way paying back the debt owed by this country to the Belgians people. As one returned wounded soldier said to this parents: “you wouldn’t be comfortably sitting by your fireside hadn’t it been for the Belgians; had it not been for their brave stand there is little doubt the Germans would have been here, for no country was in any way prepared for such an unexpected onslaught. A little time was gained for preparation which saved the situation. You can’t do too much for these poor people who really fought and suffered for you”.

Gravenhurst

The rector has called on his parishioners to ask themselves the following question: “Am I, by my Christian life and conduct, helping to bring down God’s help to end the war, or by my un-Christian life, and taking part in National degeneration helping to prolong the war?”

Clophill

The ordinary church congregation has diminished disappointingly since the soldiers arrived in the village. There has been much illness, and it is admitted that the extra work makes it hard for some people to get to Church, but it is feared that there must be a considerable amount of slackness and things ought not to be as bad as they are.

Westoning

A second successful concert has been held in the new school on behalf of the Belgian Refugee Fund. After expenses a total of £3 18s 6d was raised. One of the village Boy Scouts, Ernest Randolph Elliott Burton died last month at the age of fourteen after a short illness. The Scouts, together with some from Flitwick and Harlington, attended his funeral. The coffin was covered with the Union Jack and the boy’s haversack and hat were placed on top. Ernest was a good lad, at home, at church and at school, and did his duty regularly and well as a Scout. He will be badly missed.

Silsoe

Mr H. Spensley came to the village on February 20th to distribute war badges to those Boy Scouts who have done good work in National Service – in the case of the Silsoe Scouts this work has been guarding the railway tunnel, assisting the police and working at the Military Hospital. The Badges were awarded to Harry Bunker, Leslie Mann, Joe White, Walter White, Robert White, Charles Gray, and Albert Mann.

Source: Monthly Magazine for the parishes of Barton-le-Cley, Clophill, Flitton and Greenfield, Gravenhurst, Silsoe, Westoning, February 1915 [P21/30/17]

News from the Villages

Sunday 7th February 1915

The Old Vicarage, Flitton [Z1306/49/5]

Barton-le-Clay

A Volunteer Drill Class is to be formed in the village. Permission is being sought from the Chief Constable for P.C. G.Setchell to be appointed Drill Instructor. The Class is to be held each Friday evening at 7pm. P.C. Setchell has already given a weekly drill for many months to some 25 lads, many of whom have joined the army and have found his instruction most useful. It is suggested that the ancient habit of universal military instruction should be revived. The reverse of the large 14th century picture of St.Nicholas in the parish Church shows a village scene of youths practicing with the crossbow. It is said that the yew trees in churchyards were planted to supply wood for the bows, and many stones are found in old churches where men sharpened their arrow heads.

Trooper W. Frost of the 1st Dragoon Guards returned to the village on 72 hours leave. He has been in fifteen “scraps” since November but has come through unscathed except for frost-bite. He only once felt down-hearted, when in the trenches with frost-bitten feet, wet to the skin, chilled to the bone, and wearied from want of sleep. When a sympathetic officer asked how he felt he said he almost wished a bullet would finish him off. The officer told him to “stick it”, and “stick it” he did.

Gravenhurst

Christopher Arnold White and Adeline Standbridge Parrish were married in January and are congratulated on their decision to do their duty. The groom is to go and fight for King and country, and the bride has given her consent that he should go.

Flitton and Greenfield

The new Boy Scout Troop made its first public appearance at Church Parade on Sunday 24th January.

Westoning

More men have gone from Westoning for training and their names have been added to the list on the Church Notice Board. A list of those who have had to return through being medically unfit, and of others who have offered but been turned down for the same reason, has been added.

Clophill

The village are exceedingly happy to have such a splendid set of men billeted among them. Twenty six men from the village are serving at the Front or in the Royal Navy or have been wounded, and a further thirty are also serving. Thanks have been received for a truck of vegetables sent to be distributed among ships based at Harwich. Sir Arthur May, Director General of the Medical Department of the Royal Navy writes: “Looking at your work from a Medical point of view it is difficult to overestimate its value; the supply to the Ships’ Companies of really good fruit and vegetables, locally practically unobtainable, is in my opinion of the greatest benefit, it is, I am sure, an important factor in the present most satisfactory low rate of sickness in our ships of the Grand Fleet”.

Silsoe

Sincere sympathy goes out to the young widow of Frederick Laird of the Bedfordshire Regiment who has been killed in action.[1] Captain Lumley Jones, Adjutant of the 2nd Essex Regiment, has been welcomed home for a short but well earned west from his duties at the front. Almost immediately on his return to his regiment he was wounded by a rifle bullet. Fortunately the wound was not serious and he has completely recovered. Two more parishioners, William Novell and Samuel Wiffin have volunteered for service and be accepted, though for both of them the medical inspection meant the loss of practically all their teeth. Malcolm Cook has been successful in obtaining a Writership in the Navy and will commence his duties shortly.

Source: Monthly Magazine for the parishes of Barton-le-Cley, Clophill, Flitton and Greenfield, Gravenhurst, Silsoe, Westoning, February 1915 [P21/30/17]

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[1] Frederick Laird of the 1st Battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment was killed on 10th December 1914 and has no known grave. He had married Julia Brothers only a few months earlier. She gave birth to a son, Frederick Harry, early in 1915. His entry in the National Roll of the Great War reads: “He was mobilised on the outbreak of war, and almost immediately proceeded to France, where he fought in the retreat from Mons and in subsequent engagements on the Marne, in which he was wounded and sent to a base hospital. Recovering from the effects of his wounds he returned to his unit, and took part in the Battles of La Bassée and Ypres, and was killed in action near Ypres on December 11th 1914”. He lived at 18 High Street, Silsoe.

News from the Villages

Strawplaiting at Barton-le-Clay, 1917 [Z1306/7/13/1]

Sunday 3rd January 1915

Barton-le-Clay

The roll of honour of men from the village who have joined the Forces has increased by ten, making a total of about 50. These include five of the bell ringers. Five Bartonians have already returned wounded, but all are making satisfactory progress on the whole. At the Ringers and Church Officials' Christmas Supper Private Bradshaw gave a graphic description of the Battle of Mons, during which he had lain wounded for five hours under the dead horse he had been driving in the artillery service. Mrs Sturgess has received a letter from her son in the 1st Bedfords who has been promoted to Lance-Corporal.[1] He says “We haven’t much to grumble at, for we have plenty to eat and plenty of warm clothing, but what we don’t like is the wet weather; it makes everybody so miserable, but we grin and bear it … We stayed for a day or two in a Church where there was a nice organ. Someone started playing a few old hymns, and you ought to have heard us sing. It made us think more of home than ever … You ought to see us now, we look like a lot of bears, as we have had some fur coats given us.”

A house and furniture have been arranged and weekly subscriptions promised sufficient to maintain eight Belgian refugees, so it is disappointing that none have arrived. The matter is being kept in hand for a time in case any wish to avail themselves of the village’s hospitality later on.

Gravenhurst

Percy Parrish has written on behalf of himself and his brother Cyril to their parents: “We have joined the army … You must not worry for you know it was our duty to go. We are not going to have a German to rule over us”. The Rector urges every unmarried man of military age and strength to join the army, and every non-combatant unfit for the front to join in prayer, to contribute by self-denial, and to do some work for those suffering from the war.

Flitton and Greenfield

The series of lantern views and war slides concluded in December and a grand total of £3 14s 4d was sent to Lady Eleonora French requesting that it be spent on warm clothing for men at the front, but not on socks. She has suggested that vests and pants are most needed right now. Efforts are being made to establish a Boy Scout Troop and eleven lads are already in training. Funds are being raised to purchase uniforms and other equipment.

Silsoe

The children in the Junior Classes in the Mixed School have contributed 5s 5d and the Infants 1s 3d to the fund for the maintenance of a Belgian family in the village. Nothing more has been heard about their arrival, but the village is ready to give them a cordial welcome.

Westoning

A total of £7 12s 2d has been handed over to the Belgian Distress Fund following the concert held in the New Schools.

Clophill

There is great excitement in the village at the news that over 200 soldiers are to be billeted at Clophill. The Parish Room is to be turned into a Recreation Room with a refreshment stall. Only men in uniform will be allowed but members of all branches of the Services will be welcomed. It is hoped that the visitors will be made most comfortable, but also that there will be no “unseemly foolishness or rowdyism”.

A branch of the newly formed League of Honour for Women and Girls is also to be started in the village. The League aims at uniting all women and girls over 14 in Prayer, Purity and Temperance during the war, offering them the highest scope for true patriotism.

Source: Monthly Magazine for the parishes of Barton-le-Cley, Clophill, Flitton and Greenfield, Gravenhurst, Silsoe, Westoning, January 1915 [P21/30/17]

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[1] Leonard Sturgess of Barton joined the Bedfordshire Regiment in 1903 aged 19 and was transferred to the Reserve in 1905. He rejoined the Regiment at the beginning of the War and was discharged in January 1916 at the termination of his first period of engagement. He served in France between 30th August 1914 and 28th January 1915. His pension record describes him as “a cheerful and industrious worker”. 

News from the Villages

Old Parish Church, Clophill [Z50/31/83]

Sunday 6th December 1914

Barton-le-Clay

After a six week wait for news of her husband Private Thomas Martin of the 3rd Beds Regiment, Mrs Martin received a letter stating that he was prisoner in Germany. He is in good health but in need of socks. The mother of George King of the 9th Lancers was notified that her son is ill in a convalescent camp, suffering from an abscess in the neck. George was one of the first to go out when the war began. A. Nichols, H. Ashby and F. Peck have returned to England wounded.

Thanks have been received for the cigarettes sent to the front by Mrs F.Timms. F.Baker  of the 1st Beds writes: “Imagine how thankfully the cigarettes were received by us all lying in newly dug trenches for days at a time, defending the dear old country and flag from the inhuman Germans”.

Mr Cocks has lent Red Barns house to provide a temporary home for a Belgian family. Generous gifts of money and loans of household goods have been received, but bedding and some kind of floor covering are needed. If the house is not needed for a family, the money given will be sent to help the starving Belgians still remaining in their own country.

Gravenhurst

A meeting was held in the Village Hall to consider how to provide for a few Belgian refugees. Mr Barnes has offered one of his cottages rent free. The village is to be canvassed for weekly subscriptions, and loans of furniture, crockery and other necessary items will be requested later.

Westoning

A cottage has been offered for the use of Belgian refugees by Mr Leathes and furniture promised. A Concert in aid of the Belgian Relief Fund was given in the New Schools to a packed audience. Special thanks go to the soldiers of the 4th and 5th  Gordons and Bute Artillery who came over from Bedford and gave their services for such a good cause.

Clophill

£12.13s was collected in Clophill Church in response to the appeal for the Belgians, “our noble allies who have literally saved Europe”. If Belgian Refugees are to come here it will be used to help them, otherwise it will be sent to The Daily Telegraph Fund. Mrs Matthews has been learning toy-making to teach the girls. The end of the German toy trade with this country leaves a splendid opportunity for a new industry in country areas. For the time being Mrs Matthews intends to teach the girls of the Girls’ Club during Club nights so that they, along with those who are making babies’ clothing,  will be able to help the “poor little homeless, often fatherless, Belgian babies” who have been brought here for safety.

Silsoe

A collection of clothing has been made and sent to one of the Secretaries of the Belgian Relief Fund who responded with thanks to Miss Elsie B Jones of Silsoe House saying “the distress is at present most acute in Holland where so many of my poor compatriots have found shelter. I am sending out clothing both to Rotterdam and Flushing for distribution among these poor people, many of whom have lost all they possessed”. The members of the Girls’ Friendly Society are still busy knitting socks, gloves and mittens for our soldiers and many have been sent to the various depots.

Wrest House has been transformed from a Convalescent Home into a base Hospital and some far more serious cases of wounded soldiers have been admitted, many coming practically straight from the front. The wards are bright and clean and well lighted. Wonderful cheerfulness is displayed on all sides, even by those obviously suffering considerable pain. Their gratitude is most touching.

Source: Monthly Magazine for the parishes of Barton-le-Cley, Clophill, Flitton and Greenfield, Gravenhurst, Silsoe, Westoning, December 1914 [P21/30/16]

News from the Villages

Image: Ampthill tunnels, c.1910 [Z50/1/150]

Sunday 1st November 1914

Barton

Vegetables, fruit and eggs sent for the Harvest Festival have been divided between the National Hospital (London) and the patients at Wrest Park. Mrs Frederick Timms has collected £6 12s 9d with which she has purchased material for making eighteen nightshirts, two dozen handkerchiefs, one dozen blankets, and some knitted cuffs. She has also raised sufficient funds to supply 2,000 cigarettes and 10 ounces of tobacco.[1] Five blankets have been given which will be sent for the Bedfordshire Regiment. The Reverend C Charlesworth gave a lecture on the war in the Manor School to a packed audience which raised £5 towards the Belgian Relief Fund.

Gravenhurst

Two pairs of field glasses have been bought with money donated by parishioners in response to an appeal by Field Marshall Earl Roberts. Fourteen thousand field glasses have been provided following the publication of pictures in the Daily Mail showing that German sentries had field glasses while British sentries did not.

Westoning

Some of the men away training have returned home on short leave. Mr Peppiatt, who was present at the taking of Antwerp has been back for a few days to see his wife and children. Herbert W F Higgs, the eldest son of Mr and Mrs William Higgs, has enlisted in the Naval Air Section and will be stationed at Sheerness. He had previously worked for Mr Grimmer at Ampthill, for the General Omnibus Company, and at the Motor Works, Luton.

Flitton and Greenfield

So far there has been no shortage of food, and it is hoped that parishioners realise how much they owe to the ceaseless vigilance of the Navy. Lantern views and war slides on Germany will be shown on November 4th and on Belgium on November 18th. Socks are being knitted for soldiers by the girls of Greenfield School, and £1 15s 0d has been collected in the parish for a Wool Fund.

Clophill

The Scouts have been withdrawn from guarding the Ampthill Tunnel and are mounting guard at the Waterworks every evening. This will be much more convenient, especially as the Authorities are supplying shelter and fire. The Council are to issue special War Badges to all scouts who do a certain amount of public duty during the war. “Nearly every one of our boys have already earned the Badge. Why not all? Buck up the few slackers.”

Silsoe

Captain Lumley Jones, of the 2nd Essex Regiment, has been made a Member of the Legion of Honour, one of the highest distinctions the French Government and War Office have to grant, reserved for those who have performed a conspicuous act of bravery.[2] It is not yet known what feat won Captain Jones this honour.  Only a few days earlier he had been mentioned in dispatches by Sir John French.

Source: Source: Monthly Magazine for the parishes of Barton-le-Cley, Clophill, Flitton and Greenfield, Gravenhurst, Silsoe, Westoning, November 1914 [P21/30/16]

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[1] A letter of thanks to Mrs Timms of Barton was printed in the Luton News of 5.11.1914.

[2] Captain Lumley Owen Williames Jones is commemorated on the Winchester College At War website. He died of pneumonia brought on by influenza in September 1918 and is commemorated on the Silsoe war memorial. His parents and sisters were living in Silsoe in 1914.

News from the Villages

Members of Wrest Park Fire Brigade, Silsoe, c.1910 [Z50/142/785]

Sunday 4th October 1914

Barton

Today’s Harvest Festival is to be limited to just the Sunday Services. The Rector believes is “it is altogether unseemly to have social teas, football matches, meetings, decorations, and the like, when so many from our country – and even from our own village – are suffereing all the hardships of this cruel war so unhappily thrust upon us, and besides this, I don’t think any right minded sympathetic person would care to join in anything of that sort.”  Barton already has twenty five men serving in the army, with six of them at the front, and five more recruits have volunteered. This is more than half the number of eligible men in the village.

Gravenhurst

The Rector thanks those who responded to his invitation to send fruit, eggs and tobacco to the 66 sick and wounded at Wrest House. He considers it a privilege to help these men who have bravely fought to keep the Germans from turning England into a second Belgium. The war work party meet at the Rectory every Tuesday afternoon and have already sent six night shirts to the headquarters in London. They are now working on bed jackets, night shirts, day shirts and socks. Miss Julia Smith, from London, gave a lecture in the Village Hall on “What we are fighting for” and “what we are up against”. In her view the cause of the war was solely the Militarism of the leaders of the German Empire. Those unable to go to the front were urged to give some money towards the war effort weekly, and to “pray without ceasing”. Eight men from the village are now serving in the forces.

Clophill

The Harvest Thanksgiving in Clophill is also to be kept as plain as possible, with donations of fruit and vegetables to be given to the poor who need them this year more than ever. Thirty Clophill men are already serving their country, four in the navy and the rest in the army. The Scouts are helping the police to guard the Ampthill Tunnel and to keep open the Midland Main Line. The boys have been punctual and willing and have earned the cordial praises of the police and railway men. The Rector and Sidney Daniels have been enrolled as special constables and help to guard the tunnel by night. “The work is not always pleasant as no shelters are provided and one can get uncommonly wet in four hours. It is rather monotonous too, without even the excitement of a German spy.”

Westoning

Thirteen men from the village have left for the army, either as Reservists or Recruits.

Flitton and Greenfield

Lantern views on the countries at war and war slides are being shown in the Parish Room at 7pm on alternate Wednesdays. A collection is made at the door with the aim of purchasing a few army blankets. The first meeting raised eleven shillings. The next meetings will look at France (7th October) and Russia (21st October).

Silsoe

The wounded soldiers quartered at Wrest are welcomed for a Church Parade each Sunday. A concrete tank holding 3,500 gallons has been installed at the village school to collect rain water. This can be pumped into a cistern in the boys’ lobby for use by the school (where washing facilities have until now been primitive) and can also be used by the Wrest Park Fire Brigade. Eight Regulars and six Territorials are serving their King and Country, and have been joined by four new recruits.

Source: Monthly Magazine for the parishes of Barton-le-Cley, Clophill, Flitton & Greenfield, Gravenhurst, Silsoe, Westoning, October 1914 [P21/30/16]