Banbury Guardian, March 1915

Writing to the Morning Post on Saturday with reference to the debate at the Farmers’ Club on the national horse supply, Lord Willoughby de Broke says:- “Mr Chaplin very rightly remarked that our great national popular sport of foxhunting had alone saved the situation as regards our cavalry when the war began. It will be the duty of foxhunters to make even greater efforts in the future. Foxhunting has not yet put forth its full strength in the matter of light horse breeding. Brood Mare Societies can be established in all hunting countries where they do not now exist. Each hunt can keep a registered hunter sire or King’s Premium horse. Some difficulty has been experienced in finding among the farmers a sufficient number of suitable custodians with whom to locate the mares. This is because most farmers cannot afford to keep a mare who is not fit to do a certain amount of work on the farm. But there are many valuable well-bred mares who for some perfectly good reason cannot be put to work. There are also many hunting ladies and gentlemen who are not farmers, but who do rent or can rent enough land to keep at least one brood mare, and do her well, even though she cannot work. It is not too much to ask these ladies and gentlemen to make a point of trying to breed a hunter, and not to rely solely on the farmers.”

The Warwickshire, Friday 12^th February – Bitham Hall, Avon Dassett at 11.00am

Banbury Guardian, February 1915

23rd January 1915

William Winthorpe Watts, postal assistant aged 23 years and 4 months, enlists with the R.A.M.C at Leamington.