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Key dates over October 1914

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Lives lost on this day: 21

20th October 1914 - First Battalion preparing for the Front

Rolling casualty count: 216

2nd Batt: 5am Marched from Poperinghe to Pilkem. Worcs Regt on right of the line linking up with the 4th Guards Brigade. Very heavy artillery fire but nothing serious happened. French Territorial Division and many 100s of Belgians retiring through the lines day and night;

3rd Batt: Bois de Biez: occupied old line of trenches at Le Hue. Heavily pressed by enemy in afternoon. Held on and supported by S Lancs Regt, W Kents in reserve. Strengthened position at night.

1st Worcs for the Front: A considerable amount of the members of the 1st Worcs have been spending a few hours leave in Worcester, preparatory to going to serve at the front. They have just returned from Egypt;

The following story is told of the War Office; A young man who recently joined an infantry regt was surprised to receive his first pay as ‘for man and horse.’ He wrote to the War Office calling attention to the mistake to receive the official report that ‘no complaints in the matter of pay can be dealt with during the continuance of the war.’ The poor fellow has, therefore, to go on receiving more from his country that is his due. To salve his conscience, therefore, it is understood, he has a towel-horse in his bedroom;

Among the Canadian troops now encamped on Salisbury Plain, is Mr L S Matthias, who was for several years an assistant master at Lyttelton Grammar School; Mr W N Riley, the Leicestershire cricketer who got his ‘blue’ at Cambridge , has been granted a commission in the 4th Leicesters. He is an old boy of the Worcester Grammar School.

Information researched by Sue Redding