The matron acknowledges the following gifts with thanks:- Fruit, vegetables and flowers from Adderbury, Shotteswell, Chacombe, Wigginton, Hanwell and Claydon harvest festivals.
All posts by Sarah Richardson
Patriotic Song
The Homes They Leave Behind
Newsflash!
British attack on Tanga, East Africa
Captain Alastair Grant Gwyer, Deceased
All persons having any claims against the Estate of the late CAPTAIN ALASTAIR GRANT GWYER, late 6th Dragoon Guards (Carabineers) and of the Orchards, Radway, Warwickshire, are requested to send particulars of the same to me, the undersigned, before November 30th inst.
J. CRAWFORD WOOD
Alkerton House, Banbury
November 3rd, 1914
Banbury Guardian, November 1914
The War Expenditure
Sixty-Eight Millions in Twelve Weeks
The national expenditure last week was £8,310,115, bringing the total since the end of March to £174, 611,468 as against £102,670,518 in the corresponding period of last year. In the second week of September the expenditure was £7,261,000, in the third week nearly £10,000,000, and in the fourth week about £15,000,000. In the first full week of October the total had risen to £20,300,000, but in the second week it dropped to £12,196,352. Now there is a further decline of nearly £4,000,000, making the expenditure less than half of what, through exceptional circumstances, it was in a recent week. The expenditure to date exceeds the income by nearly £86,000,000, but compared with last year’s expenditure – which is the real criterion – the increase becomes a little under £72,000,000. The fall in the receipts has only been £3,646,831, which may be regarded as very remarkable. The cost of the war up to last week, including money which may have been expended on the national sugar supply and some other large items which rose out of the war, may be roughly estimated at about £68,000,000 for a period of a little under twelve weeks.
Banbury Guardian, November 1914
Plea for Foxhunting from the Front
Lady Lowther to Hunt the Pytchley
Major Sir Charles Lowther, the master of the Pytchley, who expects shortly to go with his regiment, the Northamptonshire Yeomanry, to the front, had sufficiently recovered from his recent operation for appendicitis to be present at the luncheon of the Northamptonshire Agricultural Society on Thursday, at which he made an interesting speech. He said he had that morning received a letter from General Gough, on of the cavalry leaders at the front, in which he said:
For goodness sake, keep foxhunting going whilst we are away at the front.
Similar appeals had reached him from other well-known officers and followers of the hunt, who were anxious that foxhunting should not suffer, so that when the war was over they would be able to come back and enjoy sport over the Pytchley preserves. He appealed to the farmers to co-operate in keeping up the hunt, and to give every assistance to Lady Lowther, who would carry on the hunt in his absence. He reminded his hearers that foxhunting had proved an invaluable national asset at this crisis, because where on earth the Army authorities would have been in their search for good cavalry horses if they had not had the hunting stables to draw upon he did not know. Thousands of horses had been taken from the stables of hunting men, who had been only too pleased to render help in this respect. In conclusion, Sir Charles said that he was proud to be associated with the Northamptonshire Yeomanry, which was to have the distinction to be one of the first of the Territorial Forces to be called up for active service.
Banbury Guardian, November 1914
Petty Sessions, Kineton – Stealing at Avon Dassett
Petty Sessions – Yesterday (Wednesday)
(Before Mr. A. Motion in the chair; and Messrs. E. Parkes, W. J. Weld and J. Lean.)
Alleged Theft
Herbert Chilton, general dealer, Banbury, and George Prentice, labourer, were summoned for stealing at Avon Dassett on the 9th October, ½ cwt of wood, value 1s. the property of Thomas Fleming of Gaydon. P. C. White said he saw the defendants in a cart coming along and stop and fetch the wood from a pile on the Banbury Road. Prentice went to the wood pile twice and fetched two armfuls and put it in Chilton’s cart and cover it over with sacks. He stopped them and asked Chilton if he had permission to touch the wood. He said, ‘No, I may as well tell the truth.’ Chilton pleaded not guilty and Prentice guilty. Mr. Fleming said the County Council surveyor, Mr. Thompson, gave him leave to stack the wood on the road. Mr. Motion said he considered it wrong to tempt any poor man by putting wood there. Defendants were fined 10s each.
Multum in Parvo
Edwin Spencer, farmer, Radway was fined 2s 6d. for not having a rear light on his trap at Kineton
Ernest Henry Carp, Leamington, was fined 10s for not having a rear light on a motor van at Kineton
Albert Spencer, farmer, Bishops Itchington, was fined 5s for not having a light on his trap at Gaydon, and 15s for being drunk and disorderly
Arthur Olds, Gaydon, was fined 2s 6d. for a like offence in company with Spencer
Neville Styles, Tysoe, carpenter, was fined 2s 6d. for having no light on his bicycle at Shotteswell
Edward Landsbury, farmer, was fined 2s 6d. for not having a rear light on a float at Kineton
Thomas Wood, labourer, Whatcote, was fined 2s 6d. for having no light on his cart at Oxhill
Harriet Brisker, Gaydon, was fined 2s 6d for an unlighted bicycle at Shotteswell
Letter – A Plea for No Bonfires
Sir – It is the custom in some of our parishes to observe November 5th by bonfires. This year, in my opinion, it will be advisable to drop this custom. When the Government are prohibiting all unnecessary lights it will be well for all to fall in with their regulations. When in God’s good time we shall be able to celebrate the return of peace to our land by rejoicing of various kinds it may be reasonable to carry out a properly organised celebration as in the case of the Jubilee and Coronation bonfires. But in this time of distress and anxiety to waste good fuel would surely be a sinful proceeding, and I trust that all well-disposed persons of all ages will set their faces against anything of the sort, at any rate this year.
I am yours truly,
Hilaris
Banbury Guardian, October 1914
Lt Holbech Wounded in Action
Lt Holbech was seriously wounded in action at Kruiseke Ridge, near Ypres. The Scots Guards had come under heavy attack from the Germans for over a week and were exhausted. On the evening of 25th October at 8.30 pm the Germans rushed their trenches and two companies were overwhelmed. The two remaining companies counter-attacked and retook the position but at a heavy cost. Nine officers, including Lt Holbech, were killed or wounded during the action.
Lt Holbech was evacuated to hospital in Woolwich.