13th September 1918 - Formation of a Table Rabbit Society

Rolling casualty count: 10590

War Front:

2nd Batt: There was another conference for officers and Sgts on a scheme for night patrols. The Batt scheme was held at night and resulted in an advance of 3 miles and the capture of 2 villages.

4th Batt: All Coys and HQ Runners were instructed in map-reading and there was platoon training.

Yeomanry/Cavalry: At 6pm the Regiment left camp with destination not known. It was feared that the Regiment would be split up among the Infantry Division and used as gallopers and orderlies, but it was kept as a complete mounted unit.

Home Front:

A meeting was held at the Shirehall on Thursday afternoon for the purpose of forming a Table Rabbit Society. Lord Coventry, in welcoming the formation of a Table Rabbit Society, said a large increase of rabbit flesh would be very necessary this year owing to what he feared would be a shortage of meat, as hay and other feeding stuffs were not available for the feeding of stock owing to the Government Forage Dept. commandeering the hay. Mr. C.A. Newman, of the Food Production Dept. gave an address explaining in detail the procedure for forming a Society, emphasising that it must be on a co-operative basis. Speaking of the objects of the National Utility Rabbit Association, he said the aim was to provide 100,000 tons of rabbit flesh. In many cases backyards were turned into rabbit-hutches, and many householders, with their piggeries and allotments, might once a fortnight have a dinner entirely of their own production. The Association was arranging for tons of rabbit food to be distributed to various centres for supplying rabbit keepers. The Association also arranged for the sale of rabbit skins to British furriers, and a scheme was being formulated for the marketing of rabbits. The Association proposed to overcome the difficulty of obtaining wood and wire for hutches by supplying this material to clubs.

At a meeting of the Committee of the Worcestershire Prisoners of War Fund, on Friday, there was discussion as to the best means of getting each part of the county to contribute its fair proportion to the Fund. It was felt that each district would readily support their own prisoners, but the question of proving for ‘outsiders’ (men from other counties in Worcestershire units) offered some difficulty. Eventually it was decided to allocate the number of prisoners to districts in the county on a population basis and to ask the areas to provide for their proportion. The Committee decided to meet again and frame a scheme.

Sir Martin Conway, Director of the Imperial War Museum, who has returned from a visit to the front, said in an interview with the Press Association representative today, that he did not think England at all appreciated how enormous the damage was that the Germans had done. In hundreds of villages there was absolutely red ruin. There they all felt (added Sir Martin) that there could be no possibility of making peace with Germany without expiation for the atrocious manner in which they had waged war. There could be no pretence of destruction for military purposes, there had been so much that was sheer wanton damage. Destruction for destruction’s sake seemed to have been their motto. Sir Martin said he had seen our soldiers reaping the harvest in places where the grain had escaped the scorching fire. The spirit of the Allies was undaunted and determined.

The Countess of Coventry writes to the “Daily Mail” with regard to British prisoners of war in Turkey. She says: “I am the mother of one of those unfortunates, and I know I am expressing the feelings of other relatives and friends when I say that we would rather risk the chances of the prisoners being torpedoed on their homeward journey than have them left to pine and die in Turkey.” Mr. E.J. Bradley, Diglis, writes also: “My fourth son was captured by the Turks two years ago last Easter Sunday, and it will be six months on the 30th of this month since we heard from or anything about him. You can imagine our anxiety when we know the hardships and privation they are going through. Surely something can be done to get those who are still alive repatriated?”

Information researched by The Worcestershire World War 100 team