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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: 1

16th January 1918 - Heavy snowfall covers county

Rolling casualty count: 8466

War Front:

3rd Batt: Heavy rain continued and conditions bad.

4th Batt: Coys getting fully equipped and cleaning up ready to move to Branhoek. The men's` clothing was dried as much as possible. The transport left and proceeded by road.

2/7th Batt: Coy training and baths for the men. Capt BH Bowman was admitted to hospital sick.

10th Batt: Batt provided working parties. A draft of officer arrived: 2Lts E Coleman, EE Drake, JH Sharpe and WE Franklin.

Home Front:

Damage and Inconvenience in Worcester: The snowfall of Tuesday evening was one of the heaviest known in this part of the country for many years. Steady and persistently it fell from the early hours of the evening till the morning was well advanced, when there was a depth of nine inches. Unaccompanied by wind the downfall differed in point of resultant damage from the violent blizzards which were here experienced during the past year or two, though the inconvenience caused by the miles of broken telegraph and telephone wires will be very considerable…The great weight of the accumulated snow has had some curious effect. In some roads in the city, where the wires have so far withstood the strain the telegraph poles have been pulled out of the perpendicular by this steady pressure…Early this morning over 260 subscribers were cut off, and the number was increasing as the morning advanced…A tramcar proceeding in the direction of Barbourne ran off the lines when near St. Nicholas’ Church. It was pushed back on to the metals and proceeded on its journey.

Workmen’s Compensation Application: Mr. W.W.A. Tree applied on behalf of Mr. H. Davies and his wife, Poplar Row, Hallow, for payment to them of £32 paid into Court by Mr. W.A. Pitt, Bear Inn, Hylton Road, Worcester, in respect of the death of applicants’ son, who died as a result of a kick by a horse while following his employment as a stable boy with Mr. Pitt. He received 5s. per week (in addition to his board and lodging) which he paid to his mother…Three elder children who were supporting themselves had put in disclaimers and there were two younger children aged six years and one year and four months respectively. His Honour allotted £10 each to Mr. and Mrs. Davis and the balance to the benefit of the two young children. Mr. Tree explained that about £7 of the £32 was for funeral expenses, which would not be divisible between applicants.

Scene at Worcester Cross: A large crowd of people gathered outside the Maypole Dairy Shop at the Cross early this morning. Someone had heard, or said, that the branch had a supply of butter, and the news quickly spread. People took their station at seven o’clock. One woman was complaining that it was a hardship that she should have to lose a day’s wages of 11s. at a munition factory to stand in the queue. The crowd were informed by the police that the shop would remain closed for the day, and later a notice was posted to that effect. While some people left, others remained. At nine o’clock there was a crowd of 150 people. Half an hour later there was a far larger queue, numbering 500 or 600, reaching to Angel Street almost. Newcomers gathered about the door, and tried to squeeze themselves into a foremost position…About ten o’clock the doors were opened and there was at first a determined rush by the crowd, and a few got into the shop out of their turn. But the police resolutely insisted that those who came late should go to the rear, and on the whole fair order was preserved.

Information researched by The Worcestershire World War 100 team