Fred Tinsley, the General Manager of Morpeth Playhouse, placed an article in the Herald on 27 December 1918, probably to help to protect his financial interests:
The Playhouse is quite safe. The house is thoroughly cleaned daily by special staff, disinfectants are used freely. The air is kept constantly moving by a system of powerful electrically driven fans. Every precaution is taken against the spread of the infection so you are quite safe in attending the cinema.
Unlike today there was no blanket closure of cinemas and theatres during the 1918 pandemic. Local authorities could issue their own restrictions, but many cinemas (like Ashington Miners’ Theatre, shown below) could stay open. In practice, many were hard hit.
Dr Hudson, Medical Officer of Health for Bedlington Urban District Council reported in the Morpeth Herald on 20 December 1918:
There was a high death rate due to influenza. There were 70 deaths in the district, 35 were from the flu and 9 from pneumonia. The most common age group for deaths was between 15 and 35 years of age due to them frequenting places of amusement. Infants and persons in adult life appeared to be less susceptible or suffered milder degrees of the flu. The closure of schools has accounted for the smaller death rate amongst children.
The opening up of the Nightingale Hospitals today recalls something similar in Hexham during the first bout of influenza. On 29 June 1918 the Morpeth Herald stated that Hexham had a few cases in the town, but the amount of victims was dramatically increased with the advent of the Durham Cadet Corps. So many of these youths were stricken that a temporary hospital had to be opened to cope with the numbers.
