Yearly Archives: 2014

6 June 1914; Saturday

June 1914, ,

At work as usual. Very little to do and we finished at 1 o’clock without leaving anything back. Troubled a bit with my foot. Charlie got some stuff at the chemist’s for it. Charlie’s Birthday. I bought him a tie. We went up the town and bought Willie and Lily a salad bowl. I went down with it at night and we talked until 10 o’clock. Saw their presents. Read a good bit.

5 June 1914; Friday

June 1914

Didn’t go to baths on account of bad foot. Busy all day. Finished early. Went for Charlie and called for Willie on the way to meeting. Mr F.E.Smith1 at the Victoria Hall2. He spoke about 1¼ hours. Had a lot of interruption especially from a woman in the gallery. A crowded house. He made a good case, but didn’t finish his speech on account of the heckling. Enjoyed the meeting.

  1. Mr F E Smith: 1872 – 1930; Solicitor General, then Attorney General, 1915 – 19; Lord Chancellor (as Lord Birkenhead) 1919 – 22; Secretary of State for India, 1924 – 28; deeply involved with Unionist Ireland -­ possibly the subject of this speech. ↩

  2. Victoria Hall: see note on 10 January. ↩

2 June 1914; Tuesday

June 1914, , ,

Got up about 9 o’clock. Read and played first thing. Shaved and went to Roker in the afternoon. Had a bit trouble with sore foot. Stayed in at night. Edie and Nelly Frere came up to see Mother while I was in. Charlie and I spoke to them in the town in the afternoon. They were with Jack and Hilda1 and the baby. We saw them at Roker too. I read a good bit.

  1. See Hilda disambiguation page. ↩

1 June 1914; Whit Monday

June 1914,

[Written in longhand above date – ] Choir Trip to Haydon Bridge

Got up 5.15. Called for Charlie. Got 6.30 train to Newcastle. Got excursion train there for Haydon Bridge. About 27 in the party. Walked to Langley Castle and then on to the moors where we played handball. Got dinner and tea at the town hall at Haydon Bridge. Walked to Hexham in the afternoon. Played football part of the way. Visited Sele, abbey, and river side1. Got the 6 o’clock train back and had tea. Walked to the spa after tea. Left there about 9.30. Got home just after mid-­night. Charlie and I set Edie Horton, and Lou Pearce home. Edie Hunter and a girl called Mary Smith sick and Jimmy Oliver. Mary Smith lost her purse with 7/9 in it and we subscribed to make it up. Charlie with us. * at Hexham. Scalded foot last thing with some boiling water.

  1. The Sele is an open area in the centre of Hexham. ↩

30 May 1914; Saturday

May 1914

Busy all day. Had only an hour for dinner and went back in the afternoon on Charlie’s bicycle. Worked until 5.30. I developed bad cold. Charlie got me a bottle at the doctor’s at night for himself and for me. Went up town and looked in shop windows a bit. Papers full of disaster1.

  1. The Empress of Ireland disaster; see yesterday’s entry. ↩

29 May 1914; Friday

May 1914, ,

Got up at 6 o’clock. Went to the baths with George , his brother and Edward. Edward had a little boy there who was afraid. Charlie got his bicycle at night. I had a ride on it. Felt a bit jaded. Had short walk. Mother still unwell.

Got to know of the disaster to the “Empress of Ireland”. Storstad1 ran into Empress of Ireland in the river Saint Lawrence and sank her. About 1000 lives lost. Accident happened at 1.45 a.m.

  1. Storstad was a Norwegian collier. It rammed the Empress of Ireland in fog, early on 29 May as ALL says, but did not itself sink. 1012 lives were lost, of the 1477 passengers and crew on the liner, bound for Liverpool. ↩