Tag Archives: Current affairs

Arthur Linfoot often noted newsworthy events not directly related to the war.

26 November 1914; Thursday

November 1914, ,

[Note at top of page – ] Bulwark

Busy at work. Mrs Spain to tea. Received news that the HMS.Bulwark1 had blown up in Sheerness Harbour & over 700 lives been lost. Went with Willie Whittaker to hear “Carmen” at the King’s. It was very good and the singing good too.

  1. HMS Bulwark: pre-Dreadnought battleship attached to the Channel Fleet; exploded with the loss of 750 men (including 14 died later) when moored near Sheerness (Isle of Sheppey, in the Thames Estuary.) Cause believed to have been overheating of cordite charges placed too near a boiler-room bulkhead. ↩

31 October 1914; Saturday

October 1914, ,

Finished at the office in good time. Went to Porteous and had a second tooth stopped. It took all the afternoon nearly. It rained heavily at night. Went to the Teachers Training Centre, and afterwards bicycled called for Willie Whittaker but didn’t go far. Came back home and played chess for a few minutes.

Wayman finished1.

Hospital Steamer Rohilla2 ashore at Whitby. About 70 lives lost. Newcastle lifeboat took off 50 people. British casualty list to date 57,000 on land.

  1. The diary entry for 2 December 1914 mentions a Billy Wayman who had recently left the Paper Works. It appears that 31 October was his last day of employment there. This Billy may possibly be the “Willie” who received his notice on 29 October to “finish on Saturday first”. ↩

  2. His Majesty’s Hospital Ship Rohilla: 7114 tons, built for the British India Steam Navigation Company in 1906 (Rohilla means an Afghan tribesman); ran aground 4.00am on 30 October in gale and blackout, at Whitby Rock just S. of Whitby; carried no rockets (for breeches buoy), but out of 229 aboard 144 were rescued (including one Titanic survivor) by land-­based rockets and lifeboats from as far away as Tyneside. ↩

2 October 1914; Friday

October 1914, , , , , , ,

Got up about 6.20. Went to baths. Pretty busy at work. Stayed in at night and wrote to Ernie. Went out last thing and called by the chapel. Charlie and Father there. They said the meeting was better.

Riot in India & about 20 natives and one Englishman killed1. British Navy commenced to mine North Sea. Heavy bombardment of Belgian trenches. Belgians retire across the Nethe. Germans occupy outer ring of forts.

  1. “Riot in India…”: Probably the denouement of the Komagata Maru incident. ↩

8 September 1914; Tuesday

September 1914, ,

Not much to do at work. Finished in good time. Played a bit. Wrote up diary. Cold much better. Uncle Jack in at night and talked about the war. News from the front brighter. Report that Allies have checked German advance & threaten to turn their wings. A report from the Continent that there are 250000 [sic] Russians on French soil1. “Oceanic” wrecked off North of Scotland2. 70000 [sic] Indian troops dispatched to the front (9th)

  1. This was of course nonsense, no doubt related to the contemporary story that a reinforcing Russian army had been seen marching from the north of Scotland to the English Channel, identified as Russian because they “had snow on their boots.” See also The Truth at Last at Picture Postcards from the Great War. ↩

  2. Oceanic: White Star transatlantic liner, launched 1898, until 1901 the biggest ship afloat at 17,272 tons (the first ship to be longer than Brunel’s Great Eastern); thus well-­known and a matter of great prestige, she had carried 1,710 passengers and 349 crew. Converted to an armed merchant cruiser in 1914, she was sent to the North of Scotland to patrol the Shetland area, and ran aground on the Shaalds of Foula on the night of 7-­8 September, breaking up within two weeks. Curiously, the Wikipedia article says “The disaster was hushed up at the time”, but it clearly wasn’t. ↩

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. ↩

7 August 1914; Friday

August 1914, , , ,

Got up at 6 o’clock. Went to the baths. Only 4 of us there. Had good swim. Received news of the sinking of the cruiser “Amphion” on a mine1. 131 English & 20 Germans lost. Further news of the Liege battle. President Wilson’s wife reported dead2. Rumours of North Sea fight, but not confirmed. Had walk with father at night. Town full of soldiers. Defence of Boldon & Cleadon being proceeded with. Ad Ahlers3 remanded for a week.

  1. “Amphion”: the scout cruiser leading Lance’s flotilla, which next intercepted the “St Petersburg” which was taking the German ambassador back to Germany; on realising the St Petersburg’s diplomatic status, Amphion interposed herself between it and the British shelling, which eventually ceased. Amphion then struck one of the Königin Luise’s mines, her surviving crew and rescued German sailors were taken by attendant destroyers, but Amphion drifted onto another mine and more lives were lost in a further big explosion. ↩

  2. “President Wilson’s wife”: Ellen Axson Wilson, first wife of President Woodrow Wilson, died on 6th August 1914. ↩

  3. Ad Ahlers: See note on 6 August. ↩

6 August 1914; Thursday

August 1914, , ,

Busy at the office. Got news of Belgium victory over Germans at Liege. A lot of guns captured & a tremendous slaughter. A German Cruiser King Louise1 sunk by destroyer Lance. Various rumours afloat. The town full of soldiers. Defences at Hendon being proceeded with. Ad Ahlers2 arrested. Received news of the birth of Hilda’s baby.

  1. King Louise: actually the Königin Luise, a minelayer and converted Hamburg – Holland ferry. The destroyer Lance (launched 1914, broken up 1921) fired the first British shot of the War at her as she (Königin Luise, camouflaged as a Great Eastern Railway steamer) was laying mines off Harwich and the Thames. Her captain scuttled her on realising he couldn’t escape; 46 out of 100 crew saved by RN ships. ↩

  2. Ad Ahlers: the New York Times of 10.12.1914 records that on 9 Dec., Nicholas Ahlers was convicted at Durham Assizes of high treason and condemned to death. He had been German Consul in Sunderland, was a naturalised British citizen, but had aided German reservists to rejoin their colours as war approached. Death was the only penalty available on conviction under the Edward III statute; but the Court of Appeal soon quashed the verdict. Ahlers then went to live in Surbiton, under the name Alfred Anderson – perhaps he was already known in Sunderland as ‘Alfred’ (abbreviated in writing to ‘Ad.’?) – but was interned in July 1915 when discovered to be receiving £10 a month from the German consul in Rotterdam. His naturalisation was revoked in March 1919, and he was deported to Germany in June 1919. ↩

28 July 1914; Tuesday

July 1914, , ,

Got up 6.20. Went to baths. Tom Vicar back. Busy at work all day. Played the piano a bit at night. Wrote up diary. A good deal of excitement caused by Dublin matters1 and by Servia2 and Austria. Troops being recalled to their stations.

War declared against Servia by Austria. Servian ships seized on the Danube. Kaiser holds all night War Council.

  1. Dublin matters: The Ulster crisis again; see note on 21 March. ↩

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

27 July 1914; Monday

July 1914, , , ,

Got <up> in decent time and went to work <in> better time. Very busy all day. Got through in good time at night. Played a bit and had short walk with Charlie. Did a bit Pelman1. Looked up a bit grammar. Trouble between Servia2 and Austria & a prospect of all Europe being concerned. Gun running3 at Ulster and 4 people killed in riot. Mr Whittaker called for Father to go and sign loan.

  1. Pelman: see note on 6 January. ↩

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

  3. Gun running: See note about the Ulster Crisis on 21 March. ↩