Stories from the Beds & Herts Saturday Telegraph: August 26th, 1916.

From time to time we have commented on the misfortunes of the Luton and district lads who are prisoners of war in Germany, and we have been privileged to be instrumental in affording some little assistance to them. Yesterday we had the privilege of seeing at the Town Hall the despatch of parcels to these poor fellows.

There are 22 prisoners of war connected with Luton now, but three of these await verification. The latest additions are Pte G. Poole, 7372, of the 2nd Beds Regiment, whose home is at 100 Albert Road, and Petty Officer Frederick Howlett (pictured right), nephew of Mr J. Bromfield, of 1 Salisbury Road, Luton.

Nineteen parcels were sent off yesterday and the contents were as follows - 1 lb sugar, a tin of golden syrup, ½lb margarine, tin of cafe au lait, tin of cocoa, ¼lb tea, packet of ginger nuts, packet of Quaker oats, mint toffee, loaf of bread, 2lb cake and 1oz of tobacco. The cost of this parcel amounts to about 5s 4d without the package.

By the courtesy of the Town Clerk, our representative was privileged to inspect a batch of letters and postcards he has received from the men, and there is no mistaking either the urgent need of food or the gratitude of the recipients. The men are in camps in various parts of Germany.

• Five sons serving and one who served and sacrificed his life is the record of Mr and Mrs James Napier, of 58 New Bedford Road, Luton. Of these five there are three in France, one in Mesopotamia and one in England. One of the sons in France is Pte Ernest Napier, who without mentioning his intentions, left the Vauxhall to enlist last year after the death in action of his brother, the late Cpl Albert Edward Napier [14025, Royal Fusiliers, May 24th, 1915]. He took a first-class bomber's certificate and went out to France after Christmas where he was in the thick of the fighting. [Pte Ernest Napier would also die on the battlefield, on September 21st, 1918, while serving with the 1st Hertfords.]

• A Luton man named George May, of 85 Lea Road, was taken before magistrates on Thursday morning at an occasional court, charged with being an absentee under the Military Service Act. He admitted the offence, and pleaded that he had tried several times to get into the Army but had always failed owing to defective eyesight. Mr William Austin (magistrates' clerk) remarked:"You have put yourself in an awkward position. The magistrates have no alternative to fining you £2 and handing you over to the military authorities. Had you joined up you would not have had that to pay."

• The Rev E. P. Gatty (Vicar of Offley) is returning to France this week to resume duties in connection with the French Red Cross. This is the third occasion that he had undertaken to help in the good work of the Red Cross, having been out in 1915 and 1916 for three months on each occasion. He is hoping to take up the same duties as before in the Verdun district.

• At 4.40 on Thursday morning Pc Shaw saw smoke coming from the basement of St Kilda, Hart Hill, the residence of Mr Shoosmith who is away holiday making. The constable promptly ran to Messrs Hayward Tyler's works and phoned to the Fire Station, and Second Officer Andrew was quickly on the spot with a motor and some men. They discovered that an electric wire had fused, melting some piping and setting fire to the under side of a joist in the basement flooring. The brigade were able to prevent the spread of the fire.

• The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children investigated 12 cases of neglect and cruelty in the South Beds area in July, involving 63 children.

• On Wednesday evening Councillor Henry Impey, who is Superintendent of Mount Tabor Sunday School, Luton, gave a striking criticism of what might be termed the depreciation of the Sunday school. There was an appalling decrease in the strength of Sunday schools, he said, partly due to the effect of the war. The real causes, he contended were that Sunday school work had become too material, too secular and entertaining. There was less seriousness in the work, less conscience and religion, fewer workers and consequential indifference of parents. All these resulted in the lack of Sabbath observance.

• The football season opened on the Luton Town ground on Saturday afternoon with a practice game against the No 6 Reserve Artillery Brigade (the new title of the No 6 Artillery Training School at Biscot Camp) in preparation for the first Combination fixture next Saturday against West Ham. Several disappointments caused changes in Luton's experimental side and the grass is not yet in condition, especially that on the Ivy Road side which is far too long. The result was an 8-1 win for Luton Town.