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Key dates over January 1918

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

26th January 1918 - Campaign to build huts by Church Army

Rolling casualty count: 8481

War Front:

1st Batt: batt entrained for Goddesvervelte and then marched to Eecke and billeted north west of the village. Batt HQ is at Eecke.

3rd Batt: Batt relieved 9th Loyal North Lancs on the Brigade Front. Enemy quiet.

4th Batt: Batt moved from Junction Camp to California Camp, Wieltje. One officer and 34 OR attached to 497th(Kent) Field Coy, RE for ten days.

2/8th Batt: Batt relieved by the 2/7th Worcs and went into support. 2 OR were wounded.

10th Batt: Batt in Front Line trenches. 2Lt GE Drake wounded and later died from his wounds. 2Lt E Davies was wounded plus 1 OR.

Home Front:

The arrangement made by the City Food Control Committee for the distribution of margarine today among more shops in the centre of the city and in the suburbs did not abolish the queues. There were more queues, and they were longer than ever…The queue at the Maypole Dairy Company’s shop at the Cross extended down Little Angel Street, as far as the Theatre, and some of the boys in the front of it stated that they had been there since six o’clock. There were nearly 50 per cent of children in the queues…At Mr. Bailey’s shop in Sidbury 600 persons were served in 40 minutes. The people were let in through the front, and out through the back…A word of praise should be given to the police for the tactul way they organised and ordered the queues. Some of the men were on night duty and had to be out again early in the morning.

Mr. Roberts, fishmonger, Broad Street, has a scheme for disposing quickly of the queue. When customers come in for a rabbit, he gives them a ticket, and they can then go on with their shopping, being sure of obtaining a rabbit whenever they come back and produce their ticket, which of course, on production, is retained.

Angling: For more than three weeks angling has been held up by the severe wintry weather and during the past week the rivers have been in flood, thick and muddy, owing to the rapid thaw of the very heavy fall of snow. In spite of the state of the water, several rods have been out, and one morning no fewer than five were found fishing the Pitchcroft side of the Severn.

Pte. E.R. Eagles, Worcs. Regt. has been awarded the Military Medal for gallantry and devotion to duty during a bombing raid on October, 9, 1917. He enlisted in the Army in July, 1916; Co.-Quartermaster-Sergt. Charles Brindley Price, Worcs. Regt. has been awarded the parchment certificate for gallant conduct and devotion to duty during operations in Passchendale. He has been twenty years in the Army, having joined at the age of 18. When war broke out he was in Egypt with his Battalion, and he went out to the Western front in November, 1914.

Church Army Huts Campaign: The War Office has asked the Church Army to provide 100 huts, and each of these, with chapel attached, costs £500. It is known that the 2nd Battalion of the Worcestershires covered themselves with glory and probably saved England at the battle of Gheluvelt, and the least we in both county and city can do (says a correspondent) is to raise enough money to provide two of these 100 huts, to be called the “Worcester Huts.” With the money now in sight, and the flag day to be organised at the end of April by Mrs. Ernest Day, there will be no difficulty in raising the first. We cannot be content with this, and must all help to raise the second.

Information researched by The Worcestershire World War 100 team