Tag Archives: Chapel

Arthur Linfoot was a member of the South Durham Street United Methodist Free Church in Sunderland, and a regular church-goer elsewhere when not in Sunderland. He records his attendance at chapel and church services of many kinds throughout his diaries.

14 March 1915; Sunday

March 1915, ,

At chapel and School as usual. Very late in morning and afternoon. Had my class and Henman’s and managed all right. Had decent walk at night. Fine day. Mr Chadwick preaching. Miss Smith sang at night. Fine day. Dresden1 sunk off Robinson Crusoe’s Ireland [sic] by Glasgow, Kent & Orania. Crew taken off.

  1. Dresden had been at both Coronel and the Falkland Islands, as noted on diary entries 1 November and 9 December 1914; Robinson Crusoe Island, formerly known as Más a Tierra after which this battle came to be named, was neutral territory. The RN ships found Dresden at anchor; Dresden sent Lieut. Wilhelm Canaris (head of Abwehr Intelligence in WWII, and part of the opposition to Hitler) with a white flag while they scuttled her. 300 men were interned in Chile. ↩

7 March 1915; Sunday

March 1915, , ,

Too late for chapel. Had a walk with Joe up Chester Road and back before dinner. Went with Charlie to the Salvation Army Meeting where he sang two solos and I played. A very interesting meeting. Went to Whittakers’ to tea. Miss Butler and Edie Hunter there. At chapel at night. I played for children’s service and Mrs Chadwick spoke. Came up with Billy Peake and Billy Whittaker. Sang anthem very badly and a Miss Wilkinson from Thornhill sang very nicely.

2 March 1915; Tuesday

March 1915, , ,

Pretty busy at the office. Wrote for two boys to call. Two boys called and were interviewed by Mr Aitken with regard to the office-­boy’s job. I shaved and played a bit, and went round by Gordon’s and paid his bill and placed an order. Called by the chapel and came up with Blaikie and Billy Whittaker. Talked to Blaikie until after 10 o’clock. Lay awake tonight with toothache.

21 February 1915; Sunday

February 1915,

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.

  1. 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. ↩

31 January 1915; Sunday

January 1915, , ,

At chapel and class as usual. Had Ron Haynes’ class and mine and had some trouble. Mr Mullens on the desk as Dick is unwell. Reverend Arthur Strother preached and was very slow in his delivery. Willie Blaikie went round with us at night. Charlie sang a piece from “St Paul”. There was some trouble about his book and some misunderstanding. The German submarines sunk some British ships in the Irish Sea1.

  1. On 30 January 1915, U-21, the first U-boat in the Irish sea, captured Ben Cruachan (a collier) and two other ships. Ben Cruachan was scuttled some 15 miles north-west of Morecambe Light House using explosive charges set by U-21 crew. See World War 1 at Sea – Royal Navy Vessels Lost and Damaged at Naval-History.net ↩

24 January 1915; Sunday

January 1915, ,

At chapel as usual Got on very well at Sunday School. Rather stormy and didn’t get for walks. Mr Chadwick preaching. Received news last thing of the battle in the North Sea. Battle in North Sea1. The German ship Bluecher2 sunk by our battle cruisers in the North Sea. The Lion, Tiger, Princess Royal, New Zealand and Indomitable with light cruisers and destroyers.

  1. This was the Battle of the Dogger Bank; the German High Seas Fleet (under Admiral Hipper) was to raid the British fishing fleet, but the British discovered this on 23 January, and (especially after the public outrage caused by the raid on Scarborough etc.) the British Grand Fleet (under Admiral Beatty) had to intercept them. The Germans were lucky that their flagship, Seydlitz, did not blow up due to fire; the loss of the Blücher is said to have caused the Kaiser to order that his High Seas Fleet remain in port thereafter – which it largely did, except for Jutland at the end of May 1916. The British flagship, Lion, was badly damaged but not lost. ↩

  2. SMS Blücher was the last armoured cruiser built by the German Empire. She was designed to match what German intelligence incorrectly believed to be the specifications of the British Invincible-class battlecruisers. ↩