Diary: Five shilling deserters allege food shortage

Stories from The Luton News, January 21st, 1915

Two privates who deserted from the 3rd Beds Regiment at Landguard, Suffolk, on Christmas Eve told magistrates in Luton that a colour-sergeant said there was little food to be had and told them to desert, giving them each five shillings.

The men, one with an address in Castle Street and the other in New Town Street, were both arrested in Warwick Road, Luton. The court was told that the men had no idea why the colour-sergeant had made the remarks he did, but he approached about half-a-dozen men in front of the whole company.

The magistrates clerk was authorised to write to the commanding officer regarding the allegations in the case. The two men were remanded to await a military escort back to Landguard.

  • Yesterday morning the 23rd Battalion, County of London Regiment, under Lieut Col Lord Herbert Scott marched out of Luton and returned to St Albans, from where they came two or three months ago following the departure of the North Midland Division.

  • New plant at the extended Luton Electricity Works was running very satisfactorily on test,and it was hoped it would meet the existing requirements of the station, Alderman Wilkinson, chairman of the Electricity Committee, told Luton Town Council on Tuesday. But with demands for additional power to consider it would be necessary for the Council think about a further scheme of extension to give a stand-by in case of further developments and ensure the regular supply of current to existing consumers. A further extension would cost an estimated £27,000 plus the cost of additional mains.

  • Damage estimated at £150 occurred at a fire discovered last night in the machine room on the first floor of Mrs E. Brightman's straw hat factory at 67 Collingdon Street, Luton. A third of the shop floor and the contents, including a number of sewing machines, were damaged. The cause of the blaze was unknown.

  • Mr William Austin, Clerk to the Luton magistrates and to the Luton Union, who is well known locally as an authority on antiquarian subjects, has this week been honoured with a Fellowship of the Society of Antiquaries.

  • After just eight weeks in circulation, the Saturday Telegraph had already reached sales second only to its sister paper The Luton News. An average of 5,000 copies of the new newspaper had been sold weekly "well ahead of any other paper printed in the towns of Luton, Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard". The January 16th sales figure jumped to 5,700, while The Luton News sold 16,500 to 17,000 copies a week.

  • The funeral took place on Saturday afternoon at the Friends' Burial Ground, Luton, of the late Mr William H. Brown, principal of the firm of Brown Bros, flour millers, of the Great Northern Mills, Guildford Street, Luton. He was 74 and died at Tunbridge Wells after a brief illness. In 1876 he had transferred the 200-year-old business from Brache Mill in Park Street to the present premises, and in 1908 enlarged the site with a new mill.

  • The Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire, Mr S. Howard Whitbread, asked the county education committee to sanction seeking the help of head teachers to ascertain as accurately as possible through school rolls of honour the number of men in the county who were now serving in His Majesty's Forces and also the number rejected as medically unfit. He had heard that Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire had one of the best recruiting records in the Eastern Counties.

  • On behalf of the executive of the Luton Voluntary Training Corps, Mr Harry Inwards asked Luton Town Council for permission to use the Waller Street Plait Hall on five nights a week for drilling purposes. He understood the military occupation of the hall would cease early next week and the Corps would like to use it at the earliest opportunity. Councillor Dillingham suggested the Corps should have use of the hall provided it was not required for other purposes - they could not damage the Plait Hall more than it had already been damaged.

  • The Council's General Purposes Committee said they had no objection to the site of a George Kent factory for filling fuses near Chaul End Crossing, but did not feel able to authorise the erection of the factory until the plans had been approved by the Home Office and the GP Committee and they knew what it was proposed to do.

  • With the help of War Office allowances for the treatment of 256 Territorials, Bute Hospital had enhanced balance in hand at the end of 1914. As a result, the hospital committee proposed to earmark not more than £300 for a much-needed, up-to-date X-ray apparatus with the necessary furniture and accessories. The hospital had treated a total of 725 patients during the year (519 male and 206 female), of whom 35 died. The total average cost per occupied bed per week was 18s 8d.

  • The Chief Constable's annual report for 1914 showed that the number of offences of drunkenness were lowest for 10 years. Alderman Oakley said the decrease was accounted for by the earlier closing of public houses, an advantage to the community in general.

  • The Chief Constable also reported that he had taken action on a letter from Bury Park Congregational Church complaining of annoyance caused to worshippers by news vendors crying their wares in the streets of Sundays.

  • Construction by the military of ranges which required part of the course to be closed when firing was in progress had had a limiting effect on South Beds Gold Club activities. However, Dunstable Golf Club had offered its facilities to South Beds members, and the courtesy was returned when the Dunstable course was placed in the danger zone for field firing.

  • There would be no Easter Monday Fair on Park Square in 1915. Showman Mr James Harris, who said he had been coming to Luton for the past 50 years, was told by the Town Council that, despite the offer of £20 for sole use, plus a £5 donation to charity and the usual tolls, his fair would not be sanctioned, to avoid noise and nuisance for residents in Church Street and Park Square.