Category Archives: 1914

All diary entries written in 1914.

25 August 1914; Tuesday

August 1914, , , ,

Busy at work. Finished shortly after 5 o’clock. News to hand of the fighting. The Allies have retired to the French frontier. The British losses are estimated at 2000. Mr Asquith stated this in the House in reply to a question. Lord Kitchener held midnight Conference. Newspapers try to keep up appearances, but German success cannot be denied. Went to practice. Got on very well. Walked round with Dora’s Charlie, Willie Whittaker and Blaikie and got home late. Japan declares War on Austria1.

  1. Japan declared war on Austria-Hungary on 25 August 1914. ↩

24 August 1914; Monday

August 1914,

George back to work. Alf and Robert off on holiday. 302 tons sent out1 last month. Busy all day.

News to hand of Russia’s big victory in East Prussia & Servia’s2 big victory over Austria. News also of British Force having been in action on Saturday & Sunday. The great battle commenced on Sunday. Namur fell & the French lost & retook Charleroi3. The British held their position.

  1. “302 tons sent out”: 302 tons of paper dispatched from the paper mill. ↩

  2. See note on 23 July about the spelling of Serbia. ↩

  3. Namur and Charleroi: in Belgium, which the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was originally sent to defend. ↩

23 August 1914; Sunday

August 1914, , ,

At chapel and School as usual. Mr Blott preaching and preached very well. I had Arthur Mullens’ class. Grand day. Newspapers out telling of the loss of Danish and Dutch vessels on mines. Sam† Chadwick spoke to me about the Debating Society. Collections at chapel for the Prince of Wales Fund and £4.11.0 collected.

Japan declared war on Germany 1.

  1. Japan sent Germany an ultimatum on 14 August 1914, which went unanswered; Japan then formally declared war on Germany on 23 August 1914. ↩

22 August 1914; Saturday

August 1914, , , , , ,

Busy at work. Finished about 2.15. An aeroplane passed over the town in the afternoon. Trial football match played. Took Histories1 up to Hills’ to be bound. Went to Roker at night with Willie Whittaker and Charlie. Discussed war news. Belgians retire to Antwerp & Germans occupy Brussels. They demand 8 million indemnity for the town. Various rumours from Austria & Russia. Charlie heard of the movement of the German fleet to Ostend.

  1. “Histories”: presumably History of the Nations; see note on 11 April ↩

20 August 1914; Thursday

August 1914, ,

Got up about 7.30. Busy all day, but finished a bit sooner. Had short walk up town with Charlie. Had a bath. Read usual war news. A bit better but troubled with toothache.

Nothing very fresh from front. Our soldiers being well received in France. Official report of the loss of the “Amphion”1 and description of brave behaviour of men. Two airmen & 2 motorcar men killed in France.

  1. Amphion: See note on 7 August. ↩

19 August 1914; Wednesday

August 1914, , ,

Busy all day. Finished about 6 o’clock. Felt rather tired and had a walk to Roker with Charlie. Saw a liner go south all lit up. It caused a lot of stir in the town. A little bit better, but still unwell.

News to hand of the arrival of our soldiers in France. A report of some desultory fighting in the North Sea. Pope Pius X died1.

  1. According to Wikipedia, Pope Pius X died on 20th August 1914. ALL was in the habit of writing up events in his diary on the date they were reported to have happened and not on the date he became aware (see, for example, “we didn’t get to know until the 18 & 19th” on 13 August 1914). It seems he may have missed by one day on this occasion. ↩

18 August 1914; Tuesday

August 1914, ,

Busy all day Finished rather late. 60 tons gone out.

Heard of Gen. Grierson being died 1 [sic]. He died of heart failure in France. French capture Saarburg2.

Went down to play for Mr Lawson’s meeting. Shook hands with him at the close of the meeting. He is leaving on Thursday for home in Leeds. Felt very much off form.

Scarcely any soldiers left in Sunderland.

  1. Haig and Sir James Grierson commanded 1 and 11 Corps respectively, and crossed to France together on 16 August. Grierson died of natural causes on the 17th; replaced by Gen. Smith‐Dorrien. ↩

  2. Saarburg: then in Rhenish Prussia, just N. of Lorraine, near the (then) French border; an early and somewhat deceptive French success. ↩

17 August 1914; Monday

August 1914,

At work as usual. Very busy. Last week’s sent out 269 tons1. About 50 tons went out today. Played and read war news.

French occupied Mulhausen2 on Sunday. French troops showing good form & spirits. Belgians holding out well, but slowly retiring. Leige [sic] forts still intact.

  1. 269 tons etc: quantities of paper despatched from the paper mill. ↩

  2. Mühlhausen: Mulhouse since 1918, in Alsace; see note on 4 May ↩

16 August 1914; Sunday

August 1914, ,

At church and School as usual. Got on very well. Had short walk in the day and long walk at night. We looked in the new park and had to climb over the gate at the top.

Nothing startling from the front. Sir John French1 arrived at Paris. Mr Lawson spoke in the pulpit. His last Sunday at So. Durham St. Mr Blott & Mrs & Joyce at Church.

  1. Sir J. French: Field Marshall, Commander‐in­‐Chief of the British Expeditionary Force, replaced by Haig in December 1915. ↩