Digest of stories from the Beds & Herts Saturday Telegraph: August 18th, 1917.

• Chaul End halt, provided for munition workers who were offered rail concessions.

This morning at the Luton Borough Court, the story was told of the method by which Chaul End workpeople defrauded the Great Northern Railway Company.

Mr Deacon, solicitor of the GNR, prosecuted and explained that Messrs Kent were allowed facilities for their workpeople at Chaul End under which weekly tickets were issued for 1s 6d, the conditions being that the tickets were available for one journey each way per day, and were not transferable. It came to the knowledge of the company that tickets were being transferred, and a ticket collector was sent to examine the tickets.

From the evidence of ticket collector Powley and Railway Police Inspector Glavey, a Dunstable girl left Chaul End at 6.25 and her ticket was marked with a red pencil. Later in the day the girl's mother used the same ticket, which had been originally issued to her, to go to Chaul End.

The girl was fined 20 shillings for travelling on the railway without paying her fare, and her mother 30 shillings for aiding and abetting her.

Mr Deacon remarked that the company wished to stop these cases, for it was being done every day. Otherwise the company must withdraw the cheap tickets.

• Shortly before 5.30 on Thursday afternoon, Samuel Spanton, aged 59, of 50 Hitchin Road, Luton was working a grinding machine at the Thermo Electric Works, York Street, when the material he was grinding fired, causing an explosion. He was burned about the face, neck head and arms. After first aid he was taken by taxi-cab to the Bute Hospital, where he is progressing very satisfactorily. Fortunately, his burns were not too serious, and the damage done at the Thermo Works was not extensive.

• The Luton Town Council are holding a special meeting on Thursday to appoint a Local Food Control Committee of not more tha 12 members. The committee will, in the first instance, administer a new scheme of sugar distribution, and probably at a later date deal with other foodstuffs, including bread and meat, and enforce food prices as fixed from time to time by the Government's Food Controller.

• ROLL OF HONOUR: Driver Walter Gylee (Royal Field Artillery), Pte Charles Herbert Halfpenny (Beds Regiment), Pte Samuel George Whittington (Beds Regiment), Pte William Scrivener (Beds Regiment/Labour Corps).

• Included in a long list of wounded was Sapper G. L. Bavister (Royal Engineers), son of Mr and Mrs A. Bavister, of 47 Park Street, Luton. The former Reliance FC player who had assisted his father in his glazing and painting business is in No. 35 General Hospital, France, suffering from a gunshot wound in the knee sustained on August 10th.

• Pte B. Gore (Essex Regiment), of 22 St Ann's Road, Luton, is in hospital at Blackpool recovering from a shrapnel wound, having previously been in hospital suffering from a damaged shoulder as a result of the Dardanelles campaign. He was formerly employed by bleacher and dyers E. W. Hart Ltd, of Windmill Road.

• Mrs Clark, of 131 Ridgway Road, Luton, has received notification that her husband Gunner H. Clark (Royal Garrison Artillery), 34, has been wounded in the recent offensive in France. He is recovering in the War Hospital, Keighley, Yorks.

• L-Cpl G. Hodsden (Beds Regiment) is in the 2nd Austraian Hospital at El Arish, Egypt, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was previously wounded at Gallipoli in Agust 1915, and had worked at the Diamond Foundry.

• Mrs Smith, of 90 Cromwell Road, has been notified that her son, Pte A. E. Smith (Beds Regiment), 19, has been wounded in the left thigh during the fighting in France on August 12th. He is now in the No. 5 Convalescent Depot, France.

• Pte E. C. Foster (South Wales Borderers), of 355 Hitchin Road, Luton, has informed his parents that he has been wounded in the back and was admitted on August 3rd to the 7th Canadian General Hospital, Etaples. He previously worked for blackmaker Mr Roberts, of Pike's Close.

• Pte Herbert Firmin (Royal Sussex Regiment), the son of Mr and Mrs F. Firmin, of 62 Salisbury Road, Luton, now lies in the 9th General Hospital, Rouen, suffering from a gunshot wound in the left arm sustained on August 4th. Before the war he was employed by Hayward Tyler & Co.

• Mrs Philip Hobbs, of Kentville, Conway Road, Luton, has received a telegram informing her that her son Capt F. B. Hobbs, was wounded on August 14th. There are no further details at present.

• Second Lieut Athol H. Webb (Northants Regiment), brother of Mr Stanley Webb, of Webb Bros, George Street, Luton, is in hospital at Manchester recovering from wounds sustained in the right arm and under the right eye in the recent "big push".

• Mrs Kilby, of 11 Salisbury Road, Luton, has been notified that her husband, Pte Horace Kilby (East Surrey Regiment), was wounded on August 2nd while stretcher-bearing in France. He is now in hospital in Stourbridge, Worcestershire. Before joining up he worked for hat manufacturers Read & Horn.

• The August week holiday closure had produced a mixed reaction among Luton shopkeepers. Mr J. H. Webb, President of the Tradesmen's Association, said his impression was that the holiday had been a great success and suggested it should be tried again in 1918, but individual retailers like outfitter Mr Mares, of George Street, draper Mr S. C. Strange, of Wellington Street, and Mr Seamark, of E. Ward & Co, New Bedford Road, thought it was bad business policy and inconvenient.

• Luton was frequently referred to at a meeting at Hitchin this week when it was unanimously decided to form a Chamber of Commerce for the Hertfordshire town. Mr G. W. Russell said at the meeting that Luton and Coventry were the most progressive towns in England, so why not Hitchin? Hitchin had the finest opportunity of being a first-class town, and in days gone by they had neglected to take it and it was time the town went forward.

• The genuine spirit of comradeship that permeates the lives of the soldiers of today was exemplified on Thursday evening, when Gunner A. E. White arranged an excellent concert at Wardown V.A.D. Hospital. The Biscot boys who took part were Cpl Tansley and Bdr Vallins (humorists), Gnr Ward (baritone), Gnr Congreve (violinist), Cpl Saddler Honey (tenor), Gnr Page (comedian and mimic), Gnr Ball (vocalist) and Cpl Cooper (pianist). The patients were enthusiastic is their applause and accorded encores to every item.

• At the Luton Midland Railway Station last night an interesting presentation took place. Mr Thomas Burnham, the platform inspector recently promoted from Luton to Derby, received a purse containing £35 from the passengers and friends, and a handsome walnut music cabinet from the staff.

• In the ordinary course of things the Luton Town Football Club officials would be fixing up trials for new players etc, but the unfortunate decision of the London clubs to exclude the provincial teams from the Combination has altogether upset matters locally. It was proposed to have a practice match next Saturday, but on account of the unavoidable postponement of the boxing tournament to this date it will not be possible to have the usual trial run. There fore the first engagement on September 1st will be undertaken without any real knowledge of the club's actual strength. There are several really strong naval and military teams in London, and it is hoped to induce the majority of these to visit the Town ground during the opening weeks of the season.

• In a bundle of waste paper brought to the News office last week happened to be a copy of The Illustrated London News for November 18th, 1843, containing a very interesting account of the disastrous fire that year at Luton Hoo in which the mansion was gutted and only the library remained intact. The article included this sketch of the building as it appeared the morning after the unfortunate event.