Stories from the Beds & Herts Saturday Telegraph: February 12th, 1916.

Cpl Alfred Alexander Burt, 1665, 1st Herts Regiment and son of Luton railwayman Tommy Burt, revealed to reporters how he won the Victoria Cross on September 27th, 1915. He had got his first home leave on Wednesday and arrived home in Hertford unexpectedly.

He had been running round a traverse to pass on an order that none of his company was to go over the top, when a bomb fell right in the trench, creating a terrible scramble.

"Oh yes, I knew the nature of the bomb. I had seen dozens of them in use before," he said. "They are in a kind of sheet-iron case and contain no shrapnel but sufficient explosive to carry away three or four yards of the parapet and to kill all who happen to be near it.

"I knew what would happen if it was allowed to remain there. It would have exploded before we could have got away; so I went at once and put my foot on it and wrenched the fuse out. When I did so I bent the case and had to keep my foot on the bomb a second or so while I pulled out the fuse. Then I grabbed it up and threw it over the top. It was, of course, harmless after I had pulled the fuse out."

Cpl Burt (picttured right) said he didn't think much of the incident after that until in the Orderly Room he saw English newspapers saying he had been recommended for the V.C. His name had not been mentioned in dispatches, but about half-an-hour later a dispatch rider was sent down with "a message from the Colonel of the Regiment congratulating me on gaining such a great honour for the Regiment and myself".

• Thanks to articles in The Luton News and Saturday Telegraph the previous week, relatives of L-Cpl William Brown, 9999, 1st Bedfords, were traced after previous attempts to locate them had failed. His brother, Frederick Charles Brown, to whom previous letters had been addressed at Guildford Street, turned out to be a member of the East Anglian Royal Engineers serving in France. But his sister, Mrs Groom, of North Street, Luton, had now contacted Chief Constable Teale. Latest information suggested that L-Cpl Brown was a prisoner of war in Germany. [L-Cpl Brown was killed in action in France on October 22nd, 1914. He is commemorated at Le Touret Memorial and Luton War Memorial.]

• A verdict of accidental death was returned by an inquest jury at the Salisbury Road Adult School, Leagrave, on 11-year-old Rose Agnes Webb, of 15 Dordans Road, Leagrave, who fell on an unguarded fire while suffering an epileptic fit the previous Monday. The child, who had suffered about two or three fits a day practically since birth, died two days later.

• Yesterday, the Luton Prisoners of War Committee despatched its latest fortnightly parcels to the 11 Luton men unfortunate enough to be held prisoners of war in Germany. A total of 174 parcels, including 11 special Christmas ones, had been sent to date.

• Fines ranging from 15 shillings to 40 shillings were imposed at Luton Borough Sessions this morning for a further 10 infringements of the Lighting Order involving warehouse, factories, a shop and private residences. Properties involved were in Victoria Street, Cambridge Street, Lea Road, Ashburnham Road, Leagrave Road, Liverpool Road and Old Bedford Road

• With ships previously bringing paper and wood pulp to Britain being released for more essential cargoes such as foodstuffs, the proprietors of The Luton News, Saturday Telegraph and Bedfordshire Advertiser appealed to readers to place definite orders with newsagents to avoid overprinting of the titles and so avoid waste.

• Luton Town FC made their longest journey of the season for a competitive match in the London Combination, away to Reading who had also been excluded from competitive football at the end of 1915. With Elvey, Roe, Tempest and Fred and Bob Hawkes unavailable to play, Luton had to rely on several old Luton players billeted with the East Anglian Royal Engineers at Maidenhead to make up numbers. Luton took the lead through Butcher in the first half but were 2-1 down at the interval. With the loss of Simms with a knee injury, ten-man Luton went 4-1 down in the second half, but pulled one back through a Wileman penalty kick late on.