Skip to navigation | Skip to content | Skip to footer

Key dates over March 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 29 30 31

Lives lost on this day: 2

2nd March 1917 - Saracen's Head licence refused

Rolling casualty count: 5567

War Front: 1st Batt: Batt moved to the Line and relieved the 2nd Division in the trenches east of Bouchavesnes from where an attack was planned.

2nd Batt: The raid was cancelled as it was impossible to cut the wire due to bad visibility.

4th Batt: An advanced party of 4th Grenadier Guards arrived to take over at 3pm. Batt moved off to occupy the right sub-sector, relieving the Essex Regiment. Work began at once with support Coys to connect up Canary Trench with Number 7 Post and HQ.

10th Batt: Batt moved to Arqueves.

Yeomanry/Cavalry: All efforts to dislodge the enemy failed.

Home Front: Objection to Two Houses: Special interest attached to the adjourned City Licensing meeting today by reason of the objections taken to the renewal of the licenses of the Bull’s Head Inn, High Street, and the Saracen’s Head Hotel, The Tything, on the ground “that the licensed premises have been ill-conducted.” The two houses were closed (so far as the sale of intoxicants is concerned) by the Board of Control some time ago.

Football in the Desert: A very interesting match was played between the officers and sergeants of the 1/1st Queen’s Own Worcestershire Hussars, the scene of the contest being about 100 miles east of the Suez Canal…In spite of the heavy going, owing to the deep sand, a very fast pace was kept up throughout the game, which ended in a win for the officers by 4 goals to 0.

Three Birthdays on Service: An interesting experience has befallen a young soldier, Pte. James Millard, whose home is the King’s Arms, Ombersley. He has spent his three last birthdays in the Army, his 18th as a despatch rider in France, his 19th as a driver of a motor convoy in Salonika, and his 20th in Egypt, serving in the same capacity as at Salonika. During his service abroad he has made a complete recovery from an attack of “spotted fever.”

Military Medal for Worcestershire Soldier: Pte. A. Payne, of the Worcestershire Regt., who resides at Blackheath, is amongst the recent recipients of the Military Medal, for the gallant rescue of some of his comrades under heavy shell fire during severe fighting on the Somme front. Before enlisting Payne was employed as a coal carter.

Information researched by The Worcestershire World War 100 team