Tag Archives: War

Diary entries which mention aspects of the war (other than naval and aerial warfare, which are separately tagged) which ALL noted but in which he had no direct involvement.

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. ↩

13 August 1914; Thursday

August 1914

Got up about 7.45. Busy all day. Finished shortly before 6 o’clock. Left Alf at the office because he was carrying on with the lads at the stores. Not much more war news tonight. Grand weather. Mrs Rowe to tea. An aeroplane passed over Sunderland and back again at tea time. Walked up town at night.

News from front scarce & uncertain. Our troops commenced to go across to France.

We didn’t get to know until the 18 & 19th.

12 August 1914; Wednesday

August 1914, , , , , ,

Very busy at work. Finished late about 6.15. Went up town with Father and Charlie. A few battle ships off Roker. Soldiers still busy making entrenchments. Read a bit and played a very little. Had walk last thing with Joe. Received postcard from Ernie saying how things were out there1.

A great battle commencing between Liege and Namur. About 2,000,000 men engaged and 200 miles of battle front.

  1. “Out there”: presumably St Andrew’s, where he was working. ↩

11 August 1914; Tuesday

August 1914,

Busy at work. A great deal of interest in the war and in the soldiers who are in the town. They are fortifying all along the coast. An occasional aeroplane passes over the town. A lot of interest shown over the whereabouts of the fighting†, and rumours current that some of our soldiers are in Belgium and France. Special papers out all day.

10 August 1914; Monday

August 1914, ,

At work as usual. Very busy through George being off. Went up the town at night. Charlie on counter duty. Got news of the sinking of the submarine. More soldiers drafted into the town. The Victoria Hall1 and several other buildings in the town including the Havelock House2 taken by soldiers.

  1. Victoria Hall: see note on 10 January. ↩

  2. Havelock House: A department store which, the following year, became the Havelock House cinema. See note on 27 December 1915. ↩

9 August 1914; Sunday

August 1914, , , ,

At chapel and Sunday School as usual. I had Esther Mullens’ class and played for the last hymn. My turn for the children’s service. Mr Riddell preaching in the morning and Mr Victor Ingleson at night. Willie Marshall playing again. Had special prayer meeting at the close of the service for the war. Cruiser “Birmingham”1 sunk German Submarine U15 in the North Sea.

  1. “Birmingham”: Tyne-built 1914, scrapped 1931; U15’s engines had failed off Fair Isle, Birmingham shelled her but missed, so rammed her and she sank with all hands: the first submarine ever sunk by an enemy warship. Birmingham was later at the battles of Heligoland and of the Dogger Bank. ↩

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. ↩