100 Years Ago - 14 Points

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/register/war-marriages-a-warning-gh5lzqjws

january 9, 1918

War marriages — a warning

To the Editor of The Times Sir, May I ask you to publish a warning to parents and guardians, and to marriageable girls? lt is required not by reason of special depravity in any particular set of men, but because social conditions are profoundly affected by the war.
A young lady, well known to me, and highly and justly respected, was courted with every apparent circumstance of scrupulous honour by one who had volunteered from another part of the world to fight for the Allied cause. Her family made every inquiry that seemed possible in the case of one whose home was far away, and the engagement was recognized, and had been made known, when — happily before it was too late — the fact came to light that the would-be bridegroom had a wife and child living in the land from which he came.

I have been begged to write this on behalf of the lady and her family, who are anxious to warn others of the risks that may be run if, owing to the difficulty of prosecuting at a distance such inquiries as would be thought indispensable in this country, proposals apparently honourable are too trustfully accepted. It is usually possible at least to find out something about the next-of-kin of a fighting man, and, if he be serving in the ranks, to learn whether they are receiving the reparation allowance.
Yours faithfully,
J B CAPPER, St. Michaels, Reigate, Jan 7.
● At the Central Criminal Court yesterday, Vincent Francis Roberts, 21, soldier, was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment on a charge of bigamy. Mr Cecil Whiteley, for the prosecution, said the prisoner was a member of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. One day, in Regent Street, Westminster, he accidentally knocked a bag out of the hand of a woman clerk named Bennett. He introduced himself, said he had been wounded in Gallipoli, and suggested that they shold become engaged and be married. The young woman replied, “This is sudden, is it not?” but she accepted the proposal and a few days later they were married at a church in Brixton. It was subsequently discovered that the prisoner was already married. It was said that he was a deserter and had been going about in officer’s uniform.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2018-01-08/register/released-british-prisoners-6s98v5335

January 8, 1918

Released British prisoners

Boston has welcomed home the prisoners of war who returned from Germany this morning. Except for the intense cold, better weather could not have favoured the occasion. The efficiency of the arrangements for landing and clearing the returning men was amply demonstrated, although Press representatives were denied facilities for witnessing the operation or of conversing with the returned men and thus gaining any information regarding conditions in Germany.
The contingent consisted of some 230 soldiers and 370 civilians — 600 in all. The four tenders used to disembark the men went down the river from Boston Dock to the Clay Hole on the evening tide and lay alongside the ships which brought them from Holland until daybreak, when the transfer began. This was carried out rapidly, and the return journey to Boston was in good time.

By midday all the returning men had been disembarked and provided with plenty of refreshments and cigarettes. The tenders attracted cheering crowds to the dykes along the river-bank, and the dock, like the four tugs, was gaily decorated with bunting. The scenes of chief human interest were around the Seamen’s Institute, where a large crowd had assembled to get a glimpse of the 16 Boston fishermen who were among the returned. Whenever any of these appeared there was loud cheering and waving of handkerchiefs. When Ivy Parker, a bright, fair-haired girl, wearing a green tam o’ shanter, saw her father, Captain William Henry Parker, who as skipper of a Boston trawler was captured in 1914, she rushed forward, flung her arms round his neck, and kissed him amid the loud cheering of the crowd.
As to the general condition of the returned men, it appeared that a good many are in excellent health, although many have suffered grievously from wounds, and not a few were using crutches. There are 28 cot cases, including one officer.
One of the released prisoners, Mr Frank Gale, chief engineer of the Marney, a boat sunk early in the war, described conditions at Ruhleben Camp as bad. “On Christmas Day each man was given four potatoes, about the size of walnuts, for dinner. This was the official ration, but, happily, it was supplemented by boxes from home. We could not have lived without the extras.”


https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2018-01-06/register/the-country-is-confronted-with-a-meat-famine-nrsgmqw6g

january 6, 1918

The country is confronted with a meat famine

After the experience which tens of thousands of people have undergone during the past weekend it is idle to mince words. The whole country is confronted with a meat famine. Experts at the Ministry of Food give repeated assurances that the contraction of supplies is temporary, and that in a few days, or weeks, or months, the situation will come nearer to the normal. But the fact remains that at present the amount of meat which finds its way into the retailer’s shop is so much reduced that national consumption has fallen far below any voluntary limits advocated by food economists. From every part of the country come reports of butchers’ shops closed or emptied within an hour of opening. Every district of London tells the same story. Yesterday many a family missed its Sunday joint. Some who could afford to pay swollen prices went without “butcher’s meat” for the sake of others less well to do; but great numbers of others, including many of the poorest classes, went without meat because it could not be got. While the scarcity continues, and without waiting for Food Controllers or Committees to move, all whose households have the means of procuring and preparing alternative dishes should abstain from meat, in order that the working man and his family, whose kitchen and purse are less adaptable, may have that substantial food on which their strength depends. So far as London is concerned, the broad fact of the situation is stated in the report of the Superintendent of the Central Markets for last week: “Supplies for the week ending today (Saturday) aggregate 3,977 tons, as against 6,461 tons for the corresponding week last year — a decrease of 2,484 tons, or 38.4 per cent.”

The view of the Food Ministry is summed up in the following: “We have got to tighten our belts and be prepared for appreciably reduced meat rations, but the public will be willing to do this if it is satisfied that available supplies are equitably distributed. The new scheme for fixing prices of live cattle will secure this at the risk of some temporary inconvenience. There is no evidence that farmers are deliberately withholding supplies. But the farmer is a slow moving and cautious individual. He does not understand the new scheme and is naturally waiting to see how it pans out.”


https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2018-01-05/register/enlisting-the-wrens-xthg8jwbj

january 5, 1918

Enlisting the ‘Wrens’

Recruiting for the Women’s Royal Naval Service will begin next week. There seems to be little doubt that this new service, already known as the “Wrens”, will prove the most popular of all. Its director is Dame Katharine Furse, whose work with the VAD, of which she was until lately Chief Commandant, won her the love and respect of thousands of women. The “Wrens” will be few compared with the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps; at present only 10,000 to 12,000 are called for, and it is unlikely that any will be wanted for foreign service. The formation will be based on that of the WAAC, and the pay of both services will be the same. An attractive kit for all ranks has been designed. The director and her assistants will wear a navy blue coat and skirt, with brass naval buttons and graded rings of Patrick’s blue on the sleeves to denote rank; a black cocked hat with a handsome badge of Patrick’s blue and silver, and a white blouse and collar and black tie will complete the uniform, which will be purchased out of the grants made to officers. The ranks corresponding to petty officers will wear a pilot jacket with black naval buttons, and skirt cut in neat straight lines. They will also wear a navy blouse and a round sailor’s cap, with black band with WRNS in gold. The rank and file will have a blue serge coat-frock of good navy serge, a blue linen sailor collar, a petty officer’s cap, and a big navy overcoat. Strong boots and stockings will also be supplied.

Many different types of workers will be needed for the “Wrens” and there will be a good deal of night work. Chauffeurs, wireless telegraphists, clerks, cooks, and waitresses for officers’ mess, workers at air stations and for repairing and cleaning aeroplanes will be wanted.
Recruiting headquarters will be at 15 Great Stanhope Street, but it is requested that no applications be made there. Announcements will appear next week in The Times giving the date when applications can be received, and then, as in the case of the WAAC, women will be recruited through the Employment Exchanges and through the existing WAAC huts. Already there is a breezy atmosphere of cheery comradeship in the temporary offices of the Wrens, whose young officers are women who have already done responsible work.