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.
“Riot in India…”: Probably the denouement of the Komagata Maru incident. ↩
Not much to do at work. Slight signs of general improvement. Mother and Father to tea at Uncle George’s. Went down to meeting at night. It was slightly improved but very noisy. Policemen going round asking people to keep lights out or as low as possible.
H.M.S.Cumberland captured 10 merchant ships1 and one going out for the Cameroons. The lights in the town very much reduced. Lière forts destroyed.
According to Wikipedia, HMS Cumberland was sent to West Africa after the beginning of the war in August and supported operations in the Cameroons where she captured 10 German merchantmen at Douala on 27 September. ↩
Not much to do at work. Stayed in at night and read some grammar up. Had short walk up the town at night with Charlie. Rather cold night. Received news that the Emden had sunk other four British ships in the Bay of Bengal. Nothing fresh from the front
Magazine of Waelhem blown up. Wavre & Saint Catherine put out of action. Lière1 bombarded.
Got up late. Had to hurry to work. Very little to do. Finished early. At choir practice at night. Mr Kettle at meeting at the chapel. Received news at night of the loss of the Aboukir, Hogue & Cressy, by German submarines. Supposed† to be attacked by 5 or 6 submarines. The Aboukir was sunk first and when the others were taking off the crew they were sunk. About 1200 lives lost. British capture armed liner “Spreewald” & two coalers (H.M.S.Berwick) and also news of the capture of the Professor Woermann at Sierra Leone.1
Aboukir, Hogue and Cressy were old cruisers patrolling in the Broad Fourteens area of the North Sea. They were supposed to sail at 13 knots (which they were too old to do) and to zigzag (an order widely disregarded as submarines had not been seen in the area); however the submarine U9 was indeed there, and sank all three. Spreewald: armed cruiser/ex-liner,3,900 tons, supplying raiders in W. Indies; Professor Woermann: 6,000 tons, apparently merchantman; became SS Professor after War. ↩
Very slack at work. Finished early. Got hair cut. Had bath. Read a good lot of Everyman1 and wrote up old diaries about the time I was commencing to go with Mildred†.
News to hand of the damage of the cruiser Pegasus by the German cruiser Konigsberg while she was at anchor and not under steam2. Also the sinking of 5 merchant ships by the Emden3 and the sinking of the Cap Trafalgar by the Carmania4.
The big battle in France still going on. Read Lloyd George’s speech.
Everyman: see Everyman and Arthur Linfoot’s Library. ↩
Pegasus, a Tyne-built cruiser of 1897, was sunk by the Königsberg off Zanzibar. ↩
SMS cruiser Emden was used as a raider in the Indian Ocean, and in September 1914 alone took over 20 British merchant ships, as well as raiding Madras. See also 29 Sept., 10 Nov., and note on 9 December. ↩
Cap Trafalgar was a large modern German liner (1913, 23,640 tons) converted as an auxiliary cruiser, in service in the South Atlantic; she was found and sunk at a secret base in the Brazilian islands of Trindade, 500 miles E. of Brazil, on 14 September by the Carmania, another ex-liner (1905, 19,500 tons) fitted out as an armed merchant cruiser; the Cap Trafalgar was thus the first ex-liner to be sunk by another ex-liner. ↩
Harvest Festival. Mr Chadwick unwell and the new deacon preached, George Quadiss†. Rather wild day. We sang anthem “While the Earth Remaineth” at night. Had usual walks. Nothing fresh from the front. Heard of the loss of an Australian submarine boat. AE11.
AE1: See note on 14 September. This is a further example of ALL noting events both on the day he heard of them and retrospectively, on the day they actually happened. ↩
Frank back from his holidays. Not much to do. Read and played a bit.
Australian submarine lost AE1. 34 lives lost12.
The AE1 took part with other Australian vessels in the capture of German New Guinea on 13 September. Patrolling in the area afterwards, she disappeared on the afternoon of 14 September, and despite searches, no trace of her (not even surface oil) was ever found. This diary entry was made subsequently – see 20 September for the news reaching ALL. ↩
[In longhand above date] Germans fall back from Paris after two days fighting1.
At church and School as usual. Managed pretty well at School. Had rather shorter walks than usual. Charlie at work in morning and afternoon. Received news of the sinking of the “Pathfinder”2 & loss of about 240 lives caused through striking a mine. Also the Runo liner3 with loss of about 20 lives. Gen. French’s official report stating that 15000 men have been lost and that our men were in every way superior to the Germans. I had bad cold and sat out <of> the choir at night. Communion service. Charlie sang a bit of a solo in the anthem.
“Germans fall back . .”: this was the First Battle of the Marne. The Germans’ rapid advance had been intended to finish the war in the West so as to free most of their troops for the war in Russia, and although their southward drive came East of Paris, instead of West as originally planned, it nearly succeeded. It failed however (leading to the 4 years of trench warfare), partly because their communications became too extended, but also because General Galliéni, who had been left with troops to defend Paris, on his own initiative took the opportunity to attack the German right (western) flank as they were moving South of Paris. ↩
Pathfinder: see note on 5 September. ↩
The New York Times reports the sinking of the Wilson passenger liner Runo on 5th September 1914. ↩
Finished about 1.30. Went to Tunstall Hills1 in the afternoon with Father and saw a destroyer off the harbour. Went to Roker at night with Charlie and met Willie Whittaker at Whitburn. A lot of soldiers in the town. News to hand of the Germans sinking 15 fishing vessels in the North Sea. Received Ernie’s letter stating that if things didn’t improve he was going to <en>list.
Pathfinder sunk by submarine 250 dead wounded & missing2.
See footnote on 15 May 1914 and Sunderland map. ↩
Pathfinder: a 4″gun destroyer, 2940 tons, built 1904, sunk by submarine U21 in the Firth of Forth 14 miles ESE of May Island; a contemporary report says that the majority of the 268 crew were lost. ↩
Not so busy at work. The recruiting strain getting worse and lots of men joining. Had walk at night. Bob and Sandy in the office. They are going to join Kitchener’s army. Their appearance and conversation caused a lot of excitement.
Lemberg & Galicia captured by Russians. HMS.Speedy1 sunk in North Sea by a mine.
HMS Speedy: torpedo gunboat, launched 1893, sunk by a mine – actually in the Humber estuary. ↩