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Key dates over January 1918

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Lives lost on this day: 0

7th January 1918 - Dearth of beef and pork in local butchers'

Rolling casualty count: 8445

War Front:

1st Batt: Batt move into the Line and relieved the 2nd West Yorks in the Passchendaele Sector. 1 OR was wounded.

4th Batt: Batt marched to Acquin to the baths at 100 men per hour and a change of clothing was issued.

2/7th Batt: Batt marched at 8am to Roye, a distance of 16 miles, and billeted around 4pm..

2/8th Batt: Rain and snow fell. Batt marched 18 miles to Carrepuis and billeted in huts and houses. 7 OR went to CCS.

Yeomanry/Cavalry: Deir el Belah was reached where there was a camp in white bell tents. Much work was done to clean horses, saddlery and all equipment after the operations of the last 2 months, driving the enemy back 80 miles.

Home Front:

Any hopes that there might have been for an improvement in the supply of beef for this week in Worcester and district were dispelled at the Cattle Market today, when it was seen that only 40 fat cattle were sent in. This was actually worse than last week, when the entry of 42 represented the greatest shortage known in the history of the market. The best means of comparing the position with normal times is to state that the average entry is 150…There is also practically an absence of pork, but that has been noted for the past three months, and it is generally agreed that the number of pigs in the country was never so low as today…With little beef and less pork it was an anomalous position to find practically a glut of mutton…But the increased supply does not necessary mean that an excess of mutton in butchers’ shops will make up for the dearth of beef and pork.

On Saturday, a horse and dray belonging to Mr. Goodyear, fruiterer, Lower Broadheath, were standing behind a pony and trap outside a shop in St. Nicholas Street, near the Cross. The bridle of Mr. Goodyear’s horse got caught in the back of the trap, and the animal broke away and dashed into a Co-operative van, standing outside the Society’s shoe shop. The impact broke the shafts of the van and injured the horse. The runaway proceeded down Lowesmoor and collided with an electric standard outside a corn shop. Here the horse escaped the dray and continued its career along Lowesmoor. Outside Dr. Bennett’s, however, it was stopped by a man employed by Messrs. R.T. Smith and Co. It is uninjured.

Capt. Harry W. Adshead of the Worcestershire Regiment, has been awarded the Military Cross. Capt. Adshead, who has been on active service with his battalion in France, since March, 1915, is now acting lieut.-colonel, commanding a battalion with the Italian Expeditionary Force.

Information researched by The Worcestershire World War 100 team