At chapel and class as usual. New evangelist, Mr Hewett, made his first appearance. He sang solos at our service and was terrible. Samuel walked up home. Mr Chadwick preached. Changeable day.
Monthly Archives: February 2015
27 February 1915; Saturday
At work as usual. Finished shortly before 2 o’clock. Cleaned bicycle in the afternoon. Went to meeting at Trinity1. Walked round town with Willie Whittaker afterwards. Wet stormy night.
Trinity: See 10 January 1914. ↩
26 February 1915; Friday
At work as usual. George Crawford’s birthday and I gave him some chocolates. Busy all day. Finished rather late. Stayed in at night, played, shaved, read etcetera. Shop did very well. Wrote up diary last thing. Bombardment of Dardanelles1 continued.
See note on 22 February. ↩
25 February 1915; Thursday
At work as usual. Played the piano at night. Went down to meeting, but was rather late and they hadn’t one. Received word that the Clan M’Naughton1 had been lost with all hands, about 280 people.
HMS Clan McNaughton was a passenger/cargo vessel, converted to auxiliary cruiser in November 1914; lost off N. Ireland (last contact on 3 February), due to one or more of: severe weather; inexperienced crew; top-heaviness due to gun-mounting; possibly a drifting mine. ↩
24 February 1915; Wednesday
At work as usual. Finished in good time, but fairly busy all day. Went to Elijah1 at night in the Victoria Hall2, performed by the Vocal Union. Principals, Mr Herbert Brown, Mr Matt Newton. Madam Catherine Vincent and Miss Lottie Beaumont, were all good. Was with Helen, Olive, Winnie and Willie Whittaker. Mother, Father and Gertie there and Charlie too. I went to Whittakers’ last thing for Charlie’s things3, because he had changed before at their house.
Victoria Hall: See 10 January 1914. ↩
“Charlie’s things” – he was presumably in the choir. ↩
23 February 1915; Tuesday
Busy at work. Left work at 11.30 and carred1 to the town. Met Father and went to Heath’s office at 11.45. Agreed to take £100 but the company would not stand it. Robson’s made another offer for Father to work and Heath persuaded him to accept £752 and to commence work on Monday at 9 o’clock. Mr Dixon summoned away and Jack Robson at Heath’s.
Made arrangement at Heath’s Office.
“Carred” meaning “rode on the tram-car.” ↩
£75 in 1915 would be equivalent to about £7,500 in 2015. By contemporary standards, £7,500 is not a generous settlement for the loss of two fingers. A similar claim settled today could cost more than double that amount. ↩
22 February 1915; Monday
At work as usual. Busy all day. Busy in house at night. Charlie brought message that Father and I have to go to Heath’s tomorrow and see about compensation business.
Dardanelles1 Outer Forts bombarded by British & French fleet.
The Dardanelles operation is probably too well known to need much explanation, but – there was disagreement throughout: whether any resources for it should be diverted from the Western Front; whether it was even possible to open the Dardanelles solely with naval action (this diary entry records the attempt to do so); whether, if that failed (which it did), troops should be sent in: they were, and that was a prolonged and very expensive failure, too. ↩
21 February 1915; Sunday
At chapel and School as usual. Mr Chadwick preaching. Rather stormy and we didn’t get our walks. Had to refuse a lot of business at the side door1.
The shop would have been closed on Sunday as was then required by law. Perhaps, under the shop’s former ownership, some customers had been in the habit of making clandestine purchases at the side door on a Sunday? This is clearly a practice which ALL and his family, devout observers of the Christian sabbath, would never have allowed to continue. ↩
20 February 1915; Friday
At work as usual. Finished in decent time. Spent afternoon clearing up house and washing the yard. Went down for Willie Whittaker at night. Had short walk round the town and he called at the shop and saw it for the first time.
19 February 1915; Friday
At work as usual. Busy all day. Busy in the house all the night. Went out last thing with Joe and called at Craddon’s to see about some sweets on order.