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Key dates over January 1916

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: 2

5th January 1916 - Chaplain killed at burial service

Rolling Casualty Count: 2656

2nd Batt: Death of Regimental Chaplain, Rev JR Stewart CF was killed by a shell while officiating at a burial service close behind the Line. He was beloved by all, nothing was too much trouble and no risk daunted him. He is remembered for his bravery at Loos.

Additional Note: 

The Rev James Robert STEWART

Chaplain 4th Class attached to 2nd Battalion, The Worcestershire Regiment

He was killed on the battlefield on 2 January 1916.

He was the son of Rev Robert W Stewart of CMS Fuh Kien, China

He is buried in grave II L 11 Bethune Town Cemetery

He was formerly in West China where his father, a Missionary, was murdered in 1895

Yeomanry: Training difficult. Wheeled transport impossible because of the sand and everything carried by camels or pack horses. The Omdah of Salhia was most helpful at this time.

On the Home Front:

Local News: The Flood: Again the Severn is rising. On December 30th it was 9ft 9ins above summer level. Today it is 11ft 2ins above summer level. The South Quay is quite impassable, and part of the North Quay is flooded.

No Permit: John Goodman Quarterman, butcher, 49, The Shambles, was fined 8s. for removing eight pigs from the Cattle Market without the necessary licence.

British Airman’s Daring: Pte E. Rouse, of the 8th Battalion wrote to Mr. B. Brotherton, Headmaster of St. George’s School, he says: “ We have had a lively Christmas out here. We were in the trenches on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and it rained nearly all the time. There was plenty of ‘straffling’ on both sides by the artillery, shells were flying about by the dozen. It was good to see Lloyd George’s Christmas boxes (heavy howitzers) bursting on the German trenches, great clouds of smoke and dirt about 50 feet high. It was a grand sight to see. The Germans sent some back…In the middle of the night our artillery opened fire again. We could see the flash of the shells when they burst. I don’t know if Fritz was enjoying himself, but he was very quiet, while on our side there was plenty of carol singing and shouting....Last Friday afternoon we saw a fine example of flying. One of our airmen came over and when over our lines, looped the loop three times in succession. Then he flew over the Germans and did the same there. They never fired a shot at him, although he was rather low. I expect they, too, were amazed at his daring.”

Information researched by the WWW100 team.