Skip to navigation | Skip to content | Skip to footer


Key dates over December 1914

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Lives lost on this day: 0

31st December 1914 - Locals donate 24,000 cigarettes to the Regiment

Rolling casualty count: 565

1st Batt: In billets at Red Barn. Lt Col A E Lascelles went home on 3 weeks sick leave suffering from general debility. Maj CCF Wodehouse DSO took over command of the Battalion. Returned to ‘B’ Lines trenches. Battalion HQ now at Lime Kiln, new dug outs made in garden to replace the old dug outs which were becoming full of water. HQ christened ‘Olde Barriar Bar’. 11:15 pm: Being the German midnight they opened rapid fire. At 12 midnight opened rapid fire on the Germans, our artillery also fired a ‘salvo,’ also fired several bombs from our trench mortar commonly and officially known as ‘Archibald.’ It was invented by Capt Pears RE and consists of an iron drain pipe about 2 feet long with a butt end. It fires a jam tin filled with gun cotton and iron rivets and nails. Black blasting powder is used as the charge which is ignited by a piece of slow fuze being stuck into the touch hole ; 2nd Batt: Brig-Gen A A Chichester DSO assumed command of the 5th Infantry Brigade. Very heavy sniping all the evening and most of the night. At 12 midnight the Germans were bombarded by artillery and fire was opened on them by our lines (Lt Tyson joined); 3rd Batt: Marched at 4:45 pm to billets at Locre.

Lieut.-General Sir Reginald Pole-Carew visited Worcester on Saturday, and inspected the whole of the local Territorials. The three Reserve Units, around 2000 men of the 8th Battalion, the Yeomanry, and the Artillery paraded at the Croft early this morning, when Sir Reginald, who was accompanied by Col. S Frewen, made a thorough inspection of all the ranks. The Croft was too wet for much to be done in the way of military operations, and nothing was assayed in this direction more than the march past. After the inspection Sir Reginald Pole-Carew said, “I am very much pleased with the men. It is good material, smart and well turned out.” Sir Reginald, like other military men, is not given to much speaking, and he would not be drawn to say anything more. Not only the military, but the civilians from all parts of the county represented by these Territorials will read his commendation with feelings of pleasure. We understand that he specially complimented the 8th Battalion on the manner in which they marched past in quarter column. They certainly kept a splendid “line.”

A letter has been sent to the matron by one of the Belgian soldiers who left the Infirmary with 10 others on the 14th November, having recovered from his wounds. “It gives me much pleasure to write a few words to thank you for the kind attention I received in the Infirmary…At this moment we are facing the enemy, we all say that, if we are wounded again we shall aske to be sent to you.”

Worcester Naturalists: The first of a series of evening meetings was held at the Victoria Institute. Mr Carlton Rea presided, and Mr JF Westby read some notes on “Wind Polished Pebbles,” of which he exhibited a number, which he had found during a search of many years in the neighbourhood of Worcester.

As a result of a combined effort on the part of a number of citizens, two consignments of cigarettes, 24,000 in all, are being sent to the three Battalions of the Worcestershire Regiment this week. Mr Winterbourne started the movement by having a collecting box in his shop, which enabled him to buy 6,000. Then a few sportsmen collected outside, and the result is that enough money was collected to send 8,000 to each Battalion. It is hoped to send further consignments later on.

Information researched by Sue Redding