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Key dates over December 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

29th December 1916 - Women standing in at Post Office

Rolling casualty count: 5158

1st Batt: Batt moved forward to the trenches previously occupied by the 2nd Worcs.

Men later went to Camp at Bray.

4th Batt: There was a lecture by the CO on “outposts” followed by a route march on the outpost scheme. The Lt Adj proceeded to the Divisional School of Instruction.

2/8th Batt: A working party was provided to work in front of Desire trench.

SMD RFA: CO and Adj went up to 240 Brigade to see positions prior to the relief to be made by 241 Brigade.

Home Front:

Christmas at the Post Office – The pressure experienced this season at the Post Office was not so strenuous as last. There was a marked decrease in Christmas cards and letter packets, but the parcels were well up to last year’s postings, and this was especially the case in regard to parcels posted for the Expeditionary Forces. Counter work was performed by women as last year, all available men being required for the sorting office, 65 per cent of the male indoor service being on active service. Useful service was again rendered by temporary women sorters and facers-up, recruited through the Labour Exchange, the services of few men being obtainable.

A Pershore Family’s Losses – Mrs Mann of Newlands received the sad news from the War Office on Boxing Day, the anniversary of her wedding day, that her husband Pte. Nicholas Mann had been killed in Mesopotamia. Pte Mann belonged to the Worcestershires and was 38. His wife had not seen him since he sailed for the Dardanelles a year and six months ago. Pte Mann’s younger brother Victor, was killed in France last August and another brother Frank Mann, after having been four times wounded, is back in the trenches.

Information researched by The Worcestershire World War 100 team