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Key dates over February 1917

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

Lives lost on this day: 5

16th February 1917 - L/Corporal Howells' DCM

Rolling casualty count: 5478

War Front: 2nd Batt: Batt moved up via Suzanne, Eclusier, Frise Bend, Fouilliers, Monacu, to the trenches on the right sector of Clery Subsection, relieving the 1/4th Suffolks of the 98th Brigade.

4th batt: The thaw setting in. There was a football match pm against the 29th Divisional School at Dours.

2/7th Batt: Batt marched to Framerville and took over billets. An advanced party went into the Line held by the French.

2/8th Batt: Batt marched to Framerville. Capt Cliff and 2nd Lt Edge joined from Base.

9th batt: After gallant resistance, the turks were being finished off. A few escaped in boats or by swimming.2000 surrendered. The men were utterly worn out and by lack of sleep but proud of her success.

Home Front: How Worcestershire Men Won the D.C.M. In a dispatch from the front Mr Philip Gibbs writes of deeds of valour. He says: There is Sergeant George Cartwright, of the Worcestershires, who has been given the D.C.M. for organising a party to fetch in Lance-Corporal Howells, lying wounded in no man’s land under the German wire. There was a bright moon shining so clear that the faces of the German sentries could be seen, and when Sergeant Cartwright crawled out with his party they came under rifle and machine gun fire and failed in their attempt. Cartwright stayed on in the trenches and made two more attempts to get the wounded man, and at last brought him back.

The Tribunals – County Appeal – Mr Willis Bund Criticises Tribunals and the Military – A meeting at the County Appeal Tribunal was held at Bromsgrove, Mr Willis Bund presiding. The Chairman announced the decision of the Central Appeal Tribunal in the case of a man named Warner of Evesham, who was working four and a half acres of land. He was granted exemption conditionally upon the man remaining in the same occupation until a pooling, or some other arrangement had been made for the cultivation of the holding. The Chairman also referred to a case from Lye, in which a decision given in November, had not been sent until January. The Chairman alluded to a practice at one Tribunal, at which a condition of exemption was imposed compelling the exempted person to sign a form offering himself for National Service. He had very grave doubts whether any Tribunal had the power to make any such condition, which turned a voluntary act into a compulsory one.

Information researched by The Worcestershire World War 100 team