SAVED BY A TOBACCO BOX (1)

by Alan Tucker

From the front line Private Ernest Waring, B Company 117th Royal Warwicks, sent the Coventry Graphic a parcel containing a tobacco box, a German bullet and an account of how the box saved him from being fatally wounded which appeared in that publication on 7 May 1915. It read:

'I was struck by the bullet on the morning of April 16th 1915. It happened about 7 am. We had had some trouble with a German sniper since daylight and a very good shot he was. He had hit the top of the sandbags about six times and each time he sent a shower of dirt right into our breakfast. After a time he slackened a little so I, being the duty sentry at the time, got the periscope to look over the parapet and see if I could locate the position.

'I could not see him, but he must have seen the top of the periscope, for just as I was going to get down to the bottom of the trench a shot came right through the parapet and struck me over the right breast. It hit a tobacco box I was carrying in my pocket, then struck downwards through my two shirts and just caught my ribs. I was bowled clean over. I thought at the time that the bullet had entered my body as it could not be found. I had to wait all day and until dark before being able to go out and see the doctor; but when he had examined the wound he assured me it was only a scratch. I was able to walk back to our billets and next morning I found the bullet in my sock where it had fallen during the night'

The bullet had apparently hit the between the lid and the box, ie double thickness of metal.

MANXMEN ALSO SERVED

The Island's only unit, the 7th (Isle of Man) Volunteer Battalion, The King's Liverpool Regiment, did not serve overseas but it did form the 1st Manx (Service) Company for active service. In January 1916 it joined 2nd Battalion The Cheshire Regiment in Salonika as its A Company. In November 1915 a second service company had been formed but this was later broken up and used for drafts for France.

Altogether 1200 Manxmen were killed during the Great War, many of the serving in Lancashire or other regiments and corps.

I am indebted to Ed McCabe for the above :Bob.

 

A DAY AT THE TRIBUNAL

by J.P.Lethbridge

For most of the First World War there was genuine full employment and an acute shortage of workers. This made it hard for bosses to maintain discipline so munitions tribunals were set up for war industries. The Birmingham Munitions Tribunal was chaired by Professor Tillyard of Birmingham University who was assisted by assessors drawn from the sort of people who become magistrates.

On 7 January 1916 the Birmingham Post reported three cases heard the day before at the Birmingham Munitions Tribunal. Professor Tillyard was in the chair. Mr G.H. Marshall represented the bosses and Mr J. Hill the trade unions.

A nut and bolt packer earned thirty-one shillings a week and had a wife and four children He had been offered semi skilled work in another factory at two pounds a week but his existing master had refused him a leaving certificate. The worker appealed to the tribunal against the decision. His appeal was rejected but his master offered him more overtime.

Four boys 'all aged fifteen' who worked at a shrapnel factory were prosecuted by their employer. They had gone on strike after another boy was sacked a week earlier for reasons that the Birmingham Post failed to report. Professor Tillyard fined the boys two shillings and six pence each about ten pounds by our standards.

Four young men were prosecuted for gambling in works time. They claimed that gambling was rife in their factory and that they were just scapegoats. The tribunal fined one man a pound and five shillings, a second a pound and the other two men fifteen shillings.

 

SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE AND THE GREAT WAR

by Peter Curtis

When war broke out in 1914 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle tried to enlist stating: “I am fifty-five but I am very strong and hardy, and can make my voice audible at great distances, which is useful at drill.”

His offer was refused. (In retrospect he would probably have made a better and more imaginative officer than some of the reservists and others who became available for service on the outbreak of war.) He had recognised the fact that war was inevitable following a motor car event in Germany called the “The Prince Henry Tour 1911”, in which he participated and had been surprised at the hostile attitudes of many of the German observers and by much talk about the inevitability of war.

Sir Arthur had also realised fairly early on that the main dangers to Britain would be from submarines and aeroplanes blockading food supplies to the country and he fully endorsed the proposal for a Channel Tunnel as a way of safeguarding these vital supplies. Sadly his warnings were largely ignored.

When war broke out Sir Arthur wrote to the War Office saying: “I think that ! may say that my name is well known to the younger men of this country and that if ! were to take a commission at my age it would set an example which might be of help. I am 55 but very strong and hardy, and can make my voice audible at great distances, which is useful at drill.”

His application was refused but he was determined to help the war effort in any way he could. He therefore set about organising local defence volunteer units. At first these and similar bodies were not recognised by the War Office but they later became affiliated to the National Association of Volunteer Training Corps and received official recognition. Later still they became volunteer battalions of their associated county regiments. Sir Arthur's unit became the Crowborough Company of the 6th Volunteer Battalion The Royal Sussex Regiment He was offered the command of the battalion but refused wishing to demonstrate that all were equal; he therefore became Private Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

In the first weeks of the war three British cruisers were sunk with a loss of 1400 men. Sir Arthur considered this loss of life preventable and urged the Admiralty to provide each sailor with an 'inflatable rubber belt.' Never reluctant to use his popularity when fighting a just cause, he began a press campaign knowing that the Admiralty might ignore one man's voice but could not ignore public opinion. As a result the Government equipped sailors with inflatable rubber collars, the forerunner of the modern life jacket. He also advocated that lifeboats be carried on HM ships and that body armour be issued to front line soldiers.

(GRAND) DAD'S ARMY

by Bob Butcher

On the outbreak of war numerous voluntary home defence and military training corps sprang up all over the country with such titles as National Guard, Citizen Army or battalions of a county volunteer regiment. The only recognition or help that they got from the War Office was permission to wear an armband bearing the Royal Cipher 'GR', hence the nick name 'Granddad's Regiment'. During 1915 most units affiliated to the National Association of Volunteer Training Corps and then received a small per capita grant from the War Office and were allowed to wear a uniform (not to be provided at public expense) which included a grey/green Norfolk jacket.

The following year the Volunteers became amenable to the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act, the County Territorial Associations took over their administration, arms and some equipment were provided, training standards laid down and military ranks authorised for the first time. Men deferred under the Derby Scheme or exempted by conscription tribunals could be directed into the Volunteers. Later a small full-time paid permanent staff was allotted to each battalion. The final stage in the development of this Great War Home Guard came in 1918 when battalions of the county volunteer regiments became volunteer battalions of their county regiments. The four battalions of the Nottinghamshire Volunteer Regiment, for example, became the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th Volunteer Battalions of the Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regt).

In addition to drilling and other training, volunteers guarded railway and other key points, provided sentries for gun sites and military depots, dug defence works, manned anti aircraft observation posts and guarded PoW working parties, all in their own time at night and on Sunday.

Between July and September 1918 active service companies were formed to take over coastal defences full-time to make good the shortage of men in Home Forces. About 13,000 volunteers were employed in this way.

The Volunteers went into suspended animation in November 1918 and were disbanded the following September.

The Bulletin of the Birmingham Branch of the WFA

Compiled by Bob Butcher

October  2008