Tring at War - 16th January, 1915

Military

Extracts from the Bucks Herald of 16th January, 1915

Edited from British Newspaper Archive

Previous week ~~~~ Tring News Index 

Tring This week's news included two reports from local soldiers fighting overseas. Arnold Ward, M.P. for West Hertfordshire, was with the Hertfordshire Yeomanry in Egypt. Sergeant E C Whiskin, of the Queen’s Westminster Rifles, described the Christmas Truce. News of the troops billeted was limited. Soldiers in the Northumberland Fusiliers were given a lecture on the history of their Regiment, and Private David Long was prosecuted for stealing money at the Half Moon Public House at Wilstone. The Aylesbury Motor Car Company was planning to provide a service between Aylesbury, Tring , Halton and Wendover - and it seems likely that most of their customers would be connected with the troops in the area, and the camp being erected at Halton. The big local news was the death of Mr John Batchelor of Hastoe Villa, together with his funeral, where the chief mourners are listed. There was also references at the Council meeting to the contribution of Dr James Brown made to the town (Death & Funeral reported earlier)  The council also considered Housing Inspection, the Hospital, A pond in Grove Park, Tenders for Tar, andvarious reports from council officers. Other items involve Fulks' Winter Clearance Sale and J. Gander and F. W. Bright's fox terriers wining classes at the National Dog Show.

First Hand Account of Xmas Truce by Aylesbury man who trained at Hemel Hempstead

On 16th January 1915 the Bucks Herald published this detailed account of the Xmas truce by Sergeant Ernest. Charles Whiskin, of the Queen's Westminster Rifles. He was born in Aylesbury in 1870 and had worked on the Bucks Herald. It is of particular interest to me because the Queen's Westminster Rifles trained at Leverstock Green, under Colonel Shoolbred (for whom Ernest worked in London) and are mention a number of times in my book The London Gunners come to Town.

See Account of the Queen's Westmister Rifles training at Leverstock Green

The Queens Westminster Rifles at Leverstock Green

Military

I have just posted extracts from The War Journal of Bernard Joseph Brookes which I recorded in 1994 when I was drafting The London Gunners come to Town. It covers the period from August 1914 to the beginning of November, 1914.

My original notes are shown unchanged (apart form some minor formatting differences) but I have added some brief biographical details and a portrait photograph of Bernard taken later in the War.

One interesting a feature is that in 1994 I added a footnote about Military Firing Ranges which reads:

The firing range used was probably in the grounds of Mr Secretan's house, The Dell, at Bennett's End, presumably a disused brick pit. The main military ranges were at Gorhambury, and at Chalk Hill, Westfield Farm, St Stephens. However work on constructing these ranges only started towards the end of September and the earliest record I have found of them being used in November, after the Queen's Westminster's had left Leverstock Green.

So I had the answer to the question "Where is the Chalk Hill firing range?" all along - but in an obsolete format - which my searches were not recognizing it!