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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: 4

Winter: 1st Battalion remained in the Neuve Chapelle/La Bassee sector

1st December 1914 - Winter: 1st Battalion remained in the Neuve Chapelle/La Bassee sector

Oil painting of a Scene from the Battle of Neuve Chapelle (March 1915) by Matania.

Image courtesy of Worcestershire Regiment Museum.

Rolling casualty count: 536

2nd Battalion were in reserve, in billets at Bailleul.

3rd Battalion spent the winter near Kemmel and the River Lys.

5th and 6th Battalions – Special Reserve Battalions – were deployed to garrison Plymouth. 9th,10th and 11th Worcestershire Battalions were also starting to mobilise and this last Battalion was billeted in Worcester.

12th and 13th Battalions were part of the 'New Armies' raised by General Kitchener's appeal for recruits but only supplied troops for other battalions and never went to France.

News arrived at Crabbe Cross on Friday that Lance-Cpl Ernest Weddins, of the 1st Worcestershire Regiment, had been killed in action. He was 24 years of age, and had served 7 years in the Army, a greater portion of the time being spent in Egypt. He was a member of the local football clubs, and one of the fastest sprinters in the needle district.

A member of the staff of the “Malvern News,” Mr G F Gilbert, who has been serving as a private with the 8th Battalion of the WR, on the East Coast, has received a commission as Sub-Lt in the Royal Navy Division.

The Work in India: The annual meeting of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel was held in the College Hall on Monday evening… The Dean said that those who were interested in the present great conflict taking place in the physical sphere, the great and terrible war which as being raged, could not help being struck by its world-wide character. What made that meeting of special interest was the state of our present relations with India. India’s help to us had been brought home to us much more forcibly than before by the help we were having from the Indian troops. (Applause). They had shown remarkable bravery and gallantry in the various battles in which they had been engaged, and had deserved the praise which Sir John French had given them just as much as the Worcestershires deserved their praise. (Applause).

YMCA Tent Blown Down: During the gale on Monday morning the YMCA marquee at Norton Barracks was blown down. Fortunately the new wooden building which is being erected for the YMCA was sufficiently advanced towards completion to allow the staff to remove their goods on Saturday and Sunday, which they did, so that no inconvenience was caused. The building will be formally opened shortly.

The Silver Cinema: Since the War began the management of the Silver Cinema have secured films dealing with the unending topic of the War. Some have dealt with incidents of famous battles of 1914, Boy Scout strategy, or the spy peril. On Monday the topical picture was a story which had as its title Nelson’s signal, “England Expects…” …It is fervently hoped that no one from a foreign shore saw the picture, or, if he did, judged it to be the usual procedure of an Englishman before enlisting. For in the picture the would-be soldier presents a terrible spectacle. He goes about with an agonising look, tries to run away, and goes to the recruiting station anything but happy. Other entertaining pictures are pathetic dramas, laughable comedies, and war scenes, also one demonstrating aerial photography.

Mrs Willmore of 18 Carey Place, Chestnut Walk, has received a letter from her son, Pte Willmore, of the 1st Worcs, at Boulogne, suffering from frost-bitten feet. He states that he was in the trenches for 6 days, and has been in hospital (where he is very kindly treated) for a fortnight. Although suffering from considerable pain, he says that it is nice to be in a warm, comfortable bed, and he adds “My heart goes out to those poor fellows still in the trenches” …It is expected that he will be sent home shortly.

Information researched by Sue Redding