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This Week in World War One, 1 January 1915

08/03/201802/01/2015 by Northumberland Archives

1 JANUARY 1915

BAMBURGH

WHIST DRIVE

To raise funds to provide comfort for our troops, a whist drive and dance was held in the school room, Bamburgh. The following were the prize winners:- Ladies – 1^st, Miss D Littlefair; 2^nd, Miss Mamie Weatherstone, 3^rd Miss J I Lawson; 4^th, Miss A Graham; sealed prize, Mrs A Campbell; consolation prize, Miss Sinton. Gentlemen – 1^st, Mr W Clark; 2^nd, Mr G Herbertson, 3^rd Mr W Carse, 4^th, Mr Jas Nesbit; sealed prize, Scout Geo. Oswald; consolation prize, Scout A Hird. The Scouts and Territorials doing duty locally were entertained to dinner by Mr and Mrs Little of Bamburgh Castle Inn, and Miss Smith, of the Victoria Hotel, has provided a similar treat for them.

Berwick Advertiser 1915 Jan 8th pg1 Paxton and Purves-BLOG — Advert from Berwick Advertiser
1st January 1915

NORHAM

TROOPER’S LETTER

The following letter has been received from Trooper A Charlton, Northumberland Hussars (brother of Mrs Brown, School House, Norham), who is at the front:-

“December 20^th, 1914,- The mince pies were champion. Jim and I and the boys had a jolly good tea; no use waiting until Christmas Day, as we are into business any moment. The North East Coast raid will have scared the people of Norham, and mind what a champion target your house and church will make, so look out for future events. Bob and Jack will have a lively time in the trenches at Blyth, but they ought to see ours, waist-deep in water, then we are liable to depart this world at any minute. Black Marias came within a few yards of our billet the other day, and last night hundreds of our guns were playing on the German trenches, the fire lighting up the whole line. What a lovely sight to see; but should not have liked to have been within, as their loss must have been enormous. I fully expected to be at home by Christmas, but am afraid we shall consider ourselves lucky if we manage by next Christmas.”

The Life of a Northern Cyclist – James Willie Wood (1892 – 1972)

08/03/201822/12/2014 by Northumberland Archives

James was born in County Durham, but brought up in Northumberland. At the age of three, he was with his mother at Red House Farm, Monkseaton and by age seven, he was living with his grandparents in Ashington where he attended the Hirst North Boys School until leaving at twelve years of age. His first job was as a lather boy at a local barber shop and at age fourteen he was working at Woodhorn Colliery, Ashington.

By December 1914, James had enlisted and was placed in the Northern Cyclists 2/1st Battalion, ‘C’ Company, commanding officer Captain Alister Hardy. The Cyclists Battalions were primarily a Home Defence Unit and also provided trained men for the regular Army – usually the infantry.

‘C’ Company was billeted in Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland, for training and for coastal defence both south and north of the Castle. Christmas Day, 1915, saw the Norwegian barque Lovespring floundering off shore with the crew being rescued by the steamer Copsewood and as the Lovespring broke up, some of the cargo was salvaged by C Company.

Early 1916 saw ‘C’ Company being relocated to Chapel St. Leonards, near Skegness, Lincolnshire, where once again, they were used for coastal defence, building trenches and outposts in readiness for a possible invasion. It was here that James met his future wife, Mahala Hunter

It wasn’t long before James found himself being transferred into the regular Army; he was placed in the Somerset Light Infantry and was shipped to the Western Front. Like many infantrymen, he was wounded and was returned to England for recuperation. When declared fit, he returned to France as a Corporal where for a short time he was a guard at a POW camp.

Mid 1917 found James back in England where he was placed in the Labour Corps – a common practice for soldiers who were deemed to be unfit for service at the front line. It is thought that James never fully recovered from the wounds he suffered in 1916. James was stationed in Seven Oaks, Kent and in November 1917 he was allowed to return to Mahala’s home village where they married in the local church. After a very short time together, James returned to his unit in Seven Oaks and remained there until the end of the war.

After demob, James returned to Mahala in Lincolnshire and then in late 1919, he brought his wife and his two young daughters back to Northumberland where they lived in Hollymount Cottages, Bedlington with James working at a local colliery. Circa 1923 found the family moving across to Ashington and to a newly built house in Garden City Villas with James working at Woodhorn Colliery where he worked until retiring at age 65.

Every year in late October / early November, James’s old commanding officer, Captain Alister Hardy, (now a Professor in Marine Biology and later to be knighted in 1957) hosted a reunion dinner for surviving members of ‘C’ Company. James attended each and every year with his final attendance being in 1971.

James passed away at his home in Garden City Villas in December of 1972, having been survived by his wife, Mahala who later died in 1977.

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to Allan Robinson in supplying this article for the Northumberland At War Project.

Christmas in Stannington Sanatorium

19/12/201419/12/2014 by Stannington Sanatorium Project

Many of the children in Stannington Sanatorium were patients there for many years and would have spent several Christmases in the sanatorium away from their families. However, by all accounts great efforts were made by the staff and the local people to ensure that the children had an enjoyable time and didn’t miss out on the Christmas spirit. A report from the Morpeth Herald and Reporter of 1916 recounts the occasion as such:

A most enjoyable time was spent by the children at Stannington Sanatorium during the festive season. The rooms were gaily decorated for the occasion. On Christmas morning each child had his or her stocking well filled with toys and other suitable gifts. Special fare was provided.

We find similar accounts of Christmas in Stannington year after year throughout its operation. In1931 one of the children even described Christmas in her own words in the Sanatorium’s in-house children’s magazine. (see below) The magazine was created by the children themselves and contains many accounts of life in Stannington as well as some of the children’s own stories and poems.

Merry Christmas!

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