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Key dates over July 1915

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Lives lost on this day: 1

20th July 1915 - Worcester Private’s Escape

Rolling casualty count: 1608

1st Batt: Section I. Everything very quiet ; 2nd Batt: In billets at Vendin; 3rd Batt: In Bivouac near Busseboom; Royal Field Artillery: Auchel: 1:31am 3rd Worcs. Battery entrained at Berguette. 8:11am Am. Col. Entrained at Berguette.

Co-Operative Society’s Children’s Gala: Co-Op Gala Day is the event of the season amongst the children and the thirteenth annual event was as successful as any of its predecessors, 2,500 children presenting tickets at the gate in addition to the children from the Cottage Homes. The girls assembled at the Drill Yard, Silver Street, and the boys in the Public Hall, to be marshalled for the procession which started for the old fete field, Bromyard Road. On arrival each child was supplied with a bag of food and a slab of chocolate. Tea was obtained from urns place about the field so that each one could easily obtain as much as he or she required. Amongst other amusements were boot polishing and spoon cleaning competitions, flat, sack, and egg & spoon races, hoop la, Mr. S. Dean’s pierrotts and the Depot band from Norton which played popular music;

Post Office Promotion: Miss D. Stone, who has been employed in the telephone branch for about 5 years, has been appointed supervising telephonist in succession to Miss Davis, who is retiring on marriage;

Outing: The customers of the New Inn, George Street, enjoyed a capital outing. They drove by brake to Old Storridge, where a good spread was provided by the new licensee, Mrs. Kendall. After the return journey the evening was devoted to harmony;

Worcester Private’s Escape: Pte. T. Harding, of the 3rd Worcs, an old “Worcester Times” boy, who came with the 3rd Worcesters from India, and has been out fighting in Flanders, is now at home on furlough awaiting an operation for the removal of a piece of metal which the X rays revealed under one of the shoulder bones…He writes, “I am wounded in the shoulder, and suffer from slight effects of the gas. The wound is a very lucky one, and it’s marvellous how I came out alive. It was a terrible day’s work.” He says that the 3rd Worcesters had to take three lines of trenches near Ypres, which had been lost by gas attacks. The Germans were evidently prepared for the attack, and “their artillery played havoc with us in reserve. But our lot started, and it was like hell…”;

Information researched by Sue Redding