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Key dates over August 1914

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Lives lost on this day: 3

24th August 1914 - First Indian Army contingent leaves India to serve in France

QMS George Alfred Birbeck 13060. d. India. 4th Batt.; Pte Thomas Evans 6539. d. F & F. 3rd Batt.; Pte Harold Leslie Stevenson 9228. d. F & F. 3rd Batt.

Battle of Mons. British General HQ received news that the enemy was stronger than supposed. 6 German Divisions concentrated against 2 divisions of the British IInd Corps. The 2nd Worcs Battalion reassembled at Frameries amongst utter disorder, shells bursting, runaway horses, houses collapsing. Mulhausen taken, evacuated and retaken.

A correspondent writing to a Bromsgrove contemporary says:- When the 8th Battalion of the Worcestershire Regiment mobilised it was found that the men were very badly provided with shirts and socks, most of them having only cotton shirts. Now they must have flannel shirts if they are to keep fit, and I undertook therefore to ask for shirts for the four northern companies; kind friends have undertaken to collect funds at Redditch, King’s Norton, and Droitwich, and I feel sure Bromsgrove will be anxious to provide for “G” Company. Four shillings will provide a shirt, and we want two shirts for each man. We also want hand-knitted socks; the men are already in need of them.

Mr W.W.A. Tree of Landsdowne Crescent had written to the Belgian Legation to offer to accommodate some Belgians 'who have been so cruelly deprived of their homes'.

Pigeon Racing Stopped

The National Pigeon Flying Club received notice on Tuesday that by order of the War Office all pigeon racing in the United Kingdom is prohibited. This is due to the fear that Germans in England may use these races as an opportunity to release birds to fly to Germany. Conveyance of messages by carrier-pigeon is a well-organised part of the German espionage system. German pigeons are usually distinguished by a broader ring on the leg that the British, and generally it has the letter “K” stamped on it. Shortly before war broke out between England and Germany several German birds which had lost their way were picked up, and there is good reason to believe that the Germans had arranged stations all along the east coast from which birds could be flown to Hamburg with news.

First Indian Army contingent leaves India to serve in France