Skip to navigation | Skip to content | Skip to footer

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: 3

20th February 1917 - Salt Union secures exemptions on two more workers

Rolling casualty count: 5500

War Front: 2nd Batt: Batt relieved in the evening by the 9th HLI and relieved the 1st Queens in the Brigade Reserve.

3rd Batt: Thawing weather made the trenches very muddy.

4th Batt: Orders received for batt to move next day. Transport went at 3pm and parked at Meaulte for the night.

2/8th Batt: Mud now very bad causing difficulty in getting up rations.

10th Batt: Two patrols went out at night but saw nothing to report.

SMD RFA: Col Colwell returned to command the Brigade.

Home Front: Local Notes – Malvern must be interested in a learned contribution to the food problem. Malvern, by means of foxgloves and other wild growths, has assisted to supply the shortage of medical and other material, and Malvern authorities have considered several schemes to promote food production. There was some talk of enclosing all the hills as a sheep ranch, and a movement is on foot to cultivate all the suitable waste lands. But all the time it appears valuable food is growing abundantly and without labour on Malvern Hills.

The Tribunals – Droitwich Borough – Mr F Hemming (Worcester) asked for leave to further appeal in the case of George Harrison (31) builder, married, four children, passed B1. Leave was given; and Mr Hemming gave particulars of sanitary and other plumbing work upon which Harrison was engaged and submitted he was doing work of national importance. The application was refused, the Military undertaking not to call the man up for a month. The Salt Union appealed for leave to have the cases of two men further considered – Benjamin Baird (21) single, a shunter, passed A1 and Edward Ashbury (38) commercial clerk, passed A1., The Tribunal decided to hear the appeals. In both cases exemption was granted pending substitution.

Information researched by The Worcestershire World War 100 team