This Week in World War One, 1 December 1916

BERWICK ADVERTISER, 1 DECEMBER 1916

 

TRAPPED BY THE TIDE

BUTCHER’S FATAL RISK ON HOLY ISLAND

 

The finding of a butcher’s van in which was yoked the dead body of a horse, on Holy Island sands on Sunday, brought to light the tragic end of Thomas Foreman, a well-known butcher.

The unfortunate man who belongs to Lowick, Northumberland, regularly crossed these dangerous sands to the island and was familiar with the perils attending a crossing with the flood tide.

bro-0515-127-blog
BRO 0515-127 (c) Berwick Record Office

 

It appears that having served his customers he left the island at 5 o’clock on Saturday night and although little enough time was left to cross in safety, no fears were entertained as to his regaining the other side.

The high tides, however, had not been taken account of and it is feared Foreman met his end while at least half-way across. Up to the time of writing no trace of the body has been found.

LOCAL NEWS

 

 Feeding Stuffs and Milk Prices. – Although the price of milk is to be restricted there is no restriction upon the price of feeding stuffs for the cows. Some farmers, assert that unless some limit is imposed upon the price of the feeding stuffs it will be impossible for them, except at a loss, to continue supplying milk. It is stated that in some parts of the country farmers are disposing of their cows. To avoid any possibility of a shortage in the supply of milk from this cause, it has been suggested to Mr Runciman that he should summon a conference of farmers and manufacturers and importers of feeding stuffs to discuss the situation with a view to arriving at a voluntary agreement for the limitation of prices. The president of the Board of Trade, who is considering the suggestion, will be asked on Thursday, 30th November, to indicate whether he is prepared to adopt it.

Steamer Refloated. – The large steamship Tredegar Hall, 3,764 tons gross register, which stranded on the sands at Monkhouse, Bamburgh, two months ago, has been successfully refloated. As the steamer stranded during spring tides fears were entertained that some time might lapse before she was salved, but the exceptionally high ide experienced at the week-end, allowed a large salvage tug to successfully tow the ship into deep water. It is understood the vessel is little the worse.

 

WOOLER

 

Christmas. – we are reminded that Christmas is again approaching, and the annual prize show and sale at the Wooler Mart is announced for Monday week. We are assured that an excellent display may be looked for. The quality of the stock presented by the Wooler Mart, Co., at their Christmas show is always equal to any, and that it will be up to the usual standard goes without saying.

An early twentieth century photograph of Wooler Mart, where the annual Christmas Show was held in 1916. © Berwick Record Office, BRO 2134-10.
An early twentieth century photograph of Wooler Mart, where the annual Christmas Show was held in 1916. © Berwick Record Office, BRO 2134-10.

 

Gifts for Soldiers. – A subscription list has been opened by the Vicar to provide the sailors and soldiers who have left the parish with a suitable Christmas parcel. Over £21 has already been subscribed and is expected to be still further increased. A chocolate service is to be held in the Parish Church on Sunday afternoon, when gifts of chocolate, etc., will be welcomed. The collection will also be for the soldiers and sailors gifts. The total number reaches over a hundred. The Presbyterian churches are also sending parcels to members connected with their places of worship.

 

SCREMERSTON

 

Concert for Soldiers’ Chritsmas Gifts. – A very successful concert, organised in connection with Scremerston Church with the object of sending a Christmas token of remembrance to all Scremerston men on active service abroad, was given in the large hall of the local Workmen’s Institute on Monday evening last. The concert had aroused a very general interest in the parish and neighbourhood, and the highest anticipations of the Vicar and those associated with him in the venture were more than fulfilled. The entertainment itself was of a very interesting and varied character. Through the good offices of Mr J. M. Dudgeon, a number of the Royal Scots now billeted in Berwick promised their assistance. During their stay here they have proved themselves most able and successful entertainers in various ways, and they repeated their triumphs on this occasion. Corpl. Dells, humourist, Private Cummings and Corpl. Howitt, vocalists, and Private Burnett, impersonator and soft shoe dancer, all justified the reputation they have gained. Mr Dudgeon’s ability is too well known to require description further than to say that he proved himself as popular as ever.

© Copyright Raymond Chisholm, and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0).

 

A cymbal dance by Miss Dormer and a tambourine dance by Miss Douglas were gracefully given and heartily received. A beautiful stage picture representing Britannia and the nine Allied Nations, devised and arranged by Mrs Lightfoot, was represented by Miss E. M. Lightfoot as Britannia and by members of the Church Girls’ Guild. The supplemental act saluting the British flag by the separate nations individually give the audience the opportunity of greeting each ally with welcoming applause. Part songs by Scremerston Church Choir as a body, and songs by individual members further associated the Church with this pleasing effort to send tokens of remembrance to the local men now serving in France, Egypt, Salonica, and on the high seas. The seating of the large gathering was looked after by Mr R. Thomson, ably assisted by his sons. Much of the success of the undertaking was due to the untiring interest and assistance given by Mr and Mrs W. J. Blackett, Scremerston Post Office, who also bore the cost of conveying the Berwick and Spittal vocalists to and from the concert. A goodly sum was realised by the venture, and the parcels thus secured will be despatched to the men at the Western front without delay; parcels have already been sent to those in Egypt and Salonika.

First World War Stannington – John Atkin’s story

During the First World War Stannington Sanatorium continued to run, but there is no doubt the lives of those there were affected by it. We can gain an excellent insight into that time through the lives of a family closely connected with it, the Atkin family. Here we will look at the Philipson Farm Colony manager John Atkin’s wartime farm, and will follow this with another post that will look at his son Robert’s war and a project exploring the men of Stannington village in WWI, and unveil sanatorium nurse Hilda Currie’s (Robert’s wife) album of photographs.

 

John Atkin from Hilda Currie's photograph album (NRO 10361/1/286).
John Atkin from Hilda Currie’s photograph album (NRO 10361/1/286).

John Atkin

John was born on the 28th March 1858 in Rothbury. On the 1861 census we find him living with parents Robert and Joanna in Corbridge. Robert was a Blacksmith from Corbridge, and Joanna was from Rothbury. John had a sister, Isabella, and his 11-year-old uncle Adam lived with the family. This would be a big and busy household as Robert and Joanna would go on to have another six daughters and five sons, and apprentices and visitors also shown on the census. John followed his father into the Blacksmithing trade, and married Margaret. The couple are found on the 1881 census living in Stargate, near Ryton, with John working as a colliery Blacksmith. Their son Robert was born there in 1882, though the family had moved to Scotswood-on-Tyne by the birth of daughter Minnie two years later.

However the family were divided on the 1891 census. John was living at Newburn Hall, Lemington, the sole occupant of a house, and was working as a Blacksmith. Margaret is harder to locate, but it is likely she was a patient in the Royal Infirmary in Newcastle at the time. During her stay there Robert and Minnie had gone to stay with their grandparents Robert and Joanna in Corbridge, the house still busy with aunts and uncles Joanna, Minnie, Matthew, James and Jane, and three visitors.

A 1910 photograph of the Atkin family of Corbridge kindly sent to us by John's Great-granddaughter. John and Margaret are 4th and 5th from left at the back, with Robert on the far right.
A 1910 photograph of the Atkin family of Corbridge kindly sent to us by John’s Great-granddaughter. John and Margaret are 4th and 5th from left at the back, with Robert on the far right.

John became the farmer at Whitehouse Farm in 1900, and on the 1901 census Margaret, Robert and Minnie are all present at Whitehouse, with Robert employed as a farmer’s son. However John was not there. He was boarding with the Nylander family at Newburn Hall, and working as a Blacksmith. Perhaps this was a transition, or he was supporting the family while the farm was still being set up. Five years later the Philipson Farm Colony was established by the PCHA, and John was asked to remain and train the boys in agricultural skills. John grew crops, raised livestock, and he and Minnie kept hundreds of chickens, with the eggs sold to the sanatorium. They also supplied the sanatorium with milk, and sewerage from the sanatorium was used as manure on the fields.

John gave a talk to the Newcastle branch of the Rotary Club, published as an article in the August 1918 volume of the Rotary Wheel magazine, in which he described his endeavour to maximise yield from the farm. At the end of the First World War this was vital as the country became affected by food shortages. John argued these were caused by the farmers’ preference for producing only sheep or cattle, though he felt “they could hardly be blamed for adopting a system that pays them best”. A reliance on imported wheat meant:

“The doctrine of the cheap loaf has carried the day, and we are now paying for it in millions – the neglect of this most important industry has brought us almost within measureable distance of defeat.”

He then described how he had taken on and run Whitehouse farm. The first year’s profits were entirely used in rates, taxes etc., perhaps suggesting why John had found work Blacksmithing again. He turned over more fields to hay, and made a 100% profit on poultry farming. The fields, once drained, produced better crops, and in eight years the yearly value of the farm’s produce rose from £400 to £1200. This was with the help of the boys from the farm colony, and they took the ideas learned from John with them into their adult careers, and even overseas.

John felt that “Well-cultivated land is a national asset, and at any time like the present is equal in value to many Dreadnoughts”. He felt the war would revolutionise farming, and though it did not bring many ‘back to the land’ as he suggested it did bring about greater use of machinery: “In many farm operations the motor will supersede the horse”. However his most important argument for farming to help the war effort lay in the diversity of stock and crops he had introduced in his own farm:

“We scour the world for eggs that might be produced at home … Organisation, co-operation and modern appliances will, I am convinced, make the farming of the future an industry such as it has never been in the past in our country”.

This seems to have worked, as the National Farmers’ Union statistics show that only 50% of eggs and 19% of wheat consumed in Britain originated here in 1914, compared to 87% and 83% in 2013.

John beside an apple tree from Hilda Currie's photograph album (NRO 10361/1/233).
John beside an apple tree from Hilda Currie’s photograph album (NRO 10361/1/233).

The family moved to The Birches in Tranwell Woods, and John built the family a home there in 1910, named White House after the farm. The family lived there for many years. Robert’s granddaughter recalls her father’s memories of following John around his different pursuits, such as beekeeping (never wearing a hat) and growing apples for shows. He also won trophies for shooting with the Hexham Volunteers. His huge greenhouse in which he grew tomatoes and chrysanthemums was destroyed during the Second World War.

We will continue the story with Robert, Helen and Helen’s photograph album in a future post.

This Week in World War One, 17 November 1916

Berwick Advertiser title 1915

 

BERWICK ADVERTISER, 17 NOVEMBER 1916

 

LOWICK’S HEAVY TOLL

 

The inhabitants of Lowick and the near vicinity have reason to remember these last two months, because the horrors of the great war has never been brought so closely, when five of its gallant young lads have since September, paid the extreme sacrifice by giving their lives in the great struggle for existence. Although they did not reside in the village, their homes were so near that a great deal of their leisured time was spent in it. They all had most of their schooling in the village schools, and it seems but yesterday since we remember them playing in the streets. We have watched them grow from youth to manhood, and also when they went forth at the call of duty, loyal to the core, and thoroughly determined to assist the motherland to conquer and defeat the treacherous enemy who has steeped Europe in blood. In the days to come Lowick will be proud of her heroes and proud of the noble sacrifices they have made. Today there is nothing but sorrow and anguish, and the sympathy of the whole village and district, where they were so well known, goes out to the bereaved parents.

BRO 1550-017 Lowick War Memorial
BRO 1550-017 Lowick War Memorial

 

Lance Corporal G. Stothart, son of Mr T. Stothart, Hetton Lime Works farm was the first to fall, and following closely on the fateful 15th September, private R. Foster, son of Mr R. Forster, Commercial Hotel, Lowick, and then Private James Fairbairn paid the toll. The photos and careers of these lads have already appeared in the “Advertiser,” and its it with great regret we publish this week the photos of Private T. Young and Lance Corporal W. C. Milburn, who fill soldiers’ graves.

 

COMPLAINT AGAINST GREEDY FARMERS

 

Glendale,

November 14th, 1916

 

Sir, – I trust you will permit me a little space in your valuable paper, in order to bring to the notice of the public at large, the mean manner some farmers in the neighbourhood of Wooler are treating their men of eligible age for the Army. As is well known, when any man is engaged to a farmer for the ensuing year, the wage agreed upon is partly made up with extras, for instances- so many potatoes, corn, etc., and it is the custom, when the potatoes are lifted, for the man to receive the quantity agreed upon at once.

Glendale Area, Northumberland-john-box

Glendale Area, Northumberland (c) John Box

Instead of doing that, these farmers in the case of those military age, are keeping back several bags of potatoes in case they lose their services in January. This, sir, is what only can be termed “the limit of meanness, “ and have these same farmers lost anything by the war? Most emphatically – No! Rather they have gained, judging by all appearances. These few farmers, and we may be thankful that upon the whole they are in the minority, if they have a spark of decency left, will surely act in a sportsman-like manner and give their men their due at once. A few bags of potatoes surely won’t ruin these farmers, but it does mean a lot to the working man who has a hard struggle to make ends meet, especially in these times.

I am, yours etc.,

FAIRPLAY.

LOCAL NEWS

 

Russia’s Day – A handsomely carved mahogany, gilt, and enamelled bed plate is on exhibition in the window of Mr R. Robertson, guilder, etc., Hide Hill, Berwick. It is intended that this handsome plate, which symbolises the Borough seal and arms, and contains on a scroll a suitable inscription in Russian, should be affixed to the Berwick bed, which was gifted to Petrograd Hospital as a result of Russia’s Day collections in Berwick on April 15th, 1916. The plate bears the following inscription in Russian, “The gift of Berwick on Tweed to Petrograd.” The medallion plate was carved and decorated at the expense of the Committee of Berwick European War Relief Fund.

Efficacy of the “Berwick Advertiser.” – Just the other week the “Advertiser” was the means of bringing two local soldiers together in a ward at Wharncliffe Military Hospital, Sheffield. A Berwick lad had just finished reading his weekly copy when a cheery North country voice hailed him. The paper had caught the eye of a Scremerston lad, also an inmate of the Hospital, and with the readiness of the “Tommy” a friendship was soon set up. Not only, however, in the hospital and training camp can the “Advertiser” be found, but out in France within sound of the guns it is passed round amongst Border men as a general and personal message from home.

Interesting Connection with Berwick. – A paragraph which appears in a Newcastle daily paper this week, recalls an interesting connection with the ancient Border town. The paragraph alluded to refers to the destruction of illicit distilleries a hundred years ago, and is as follows: – On Saturday all the illegal distilleries on the islands in Loch Lomond were destroyed by the boats and crews of the Prince of Wales revenue cutter, and the new revenue boat stations at Luss. These distilleries have been wrought for years back and have employed above a hundred persons. It should be mentioned that Captain John Turner Curry was in command of the Prince of Wales revenue cutter referred to, and that he was a freeman and native of Berwick. It was he who built the house on the ramparts known as the Lions, and which is such a familiar edifice when viewed from the meadows or cliffs.

Mayor’s Sunday – Following the time honoured custom, the Mayor (Ald. J. W. Plenderleith) and the Sheriff (Mr Matthew Ross) attended divine service in the Holy Trinity Church, Berwick, on Sunday. There was a fair attendance of Aldermen, Councillors, officials and prominent townsmen present at the Town Hall, and at ten fifteen the gathering, headed by the Sergeants-at-Mace, marched in procession to the place of worship.

Berwick Parish Church (c) John Box
Berwick Parish Church (c) John Box

 

A large and representative congregation was present in the church, and listened to a most able and instructive address by the Vicar of Berwick (Rev. R. W. de la Hey). Seventeen pupils from the Boys’ National School were present and answered the customary questions from the Catechism. The boys examined in their knowledge were Andrew Fife, John Hay, Robert Henderson, George Henderson, Robert Jamieson, Peter Jameison, John Kerr, James Leitch, Wm. McCallum, Duncan McCallum, Wilfred Patterson, William Piercy, Edward Rutherford, John Scott, William Skelly, Frank Stothart and Geo. Swinbank. After the service the company returned to the Town Hall, when the Mayor in a few well-chosen words, thanked all for the pleasure of their company.