Digest of stories from The Luton News: Thursday, April 12th, 1917.

The untimely appointment of a 34-year-old as Luton's new Chief Constable (pictured) was nothing less than an insult to Lutonians who had sacrificed their lives in the war. So said a letter writer using the pseudonym "The man in the street".

He wrote: "I think with a lot more townsmen of Luton that the Council have made a grave mistake in bringing a man in to fill the position who at the present grave crisis of our country should certainly be serving his country in another capacity. When we see our townsmen who have given up everything for their country's sake, many never to return, I think it is nothing less than an insult to those brave men to bring a man in perfect health of 34 years of age to fill the position.

"I agree that more modern ideas are probably needed, but with a most capable officer in Inspector Hagley, I think it would have been more appropriate at the present time to have left the appointment in abeyance until after the war.

"As the majority of our constables appear to be men of military age, who should be among the 500,000 so urgently needed for the Army, probably the Council thought it more suitable to bring another one in as their chief...

"Many men in Luton when appealing for exemption to the local Tribunal were asked the question, 'What would become of your business if the Germans got here?' But if they got here I don't suppose they would care if the Chief Constable was 34 or 74, or if we had not one at all."

• A 22-year-old in domestic service who stole from the employer was bound over in the sum of 40s to be of good behaviour after Mrs Oxlin, a Limbury woman interested in the Borstal system of rescue work, agreed to take her under her wing. Since being in the care of Mrs Oxlin the young woman had "made such improvement in the direction of becoming a good woman" that Luton Divisional Police Court on Tuesday agreed to the arrangement continuing, subject to no further misdeeds.

• A wedding of local interest took place at St Pancras Church, London, on Saturday, the bride being Miss Beryl Barford, only daughter of Luton businessman Mr Ernest Barford, of Studley Road. She married Major Henry Newton, 5th Notts and Derby Regiment, now attached to the Royal Engineers. The bridegroom, fifth son of Mr Thomas Newton, of Quarndon, Derbyshire, had gain the D.S.O. for a remarkable ability in inventions, including new types of hand grenades that had impressed the King, Prince of Wales and Lord Kitchener.

• Mrs Goodship, the wife of Rifleman F. H. Goodship, of 169 High Town Road, Luton, states that her husband, who joined the Bedfordshire Regiment in September 1914 and was invalided home from Egypt suffering from dysentery, was now serving in France with the Royal Irish Rifles.

• Railway traffic during the Easter holiday was hardly a shadow of the business of normal times. At the Midland Railway Station there were a few extra bookings for the south, chiefly London, and at the Great Northern Station the amount of traffic was about the smallest on record for Easter.

• There seems to be little disposition on the part of local farmers to take advantage of the dispensation given by the Archbishop of Canterbury in reference to Sunday labour on the land, such as ploughing.

• In a letter to his parents at Mangrove, Pte E. Wilmot, with the 4th Middlesex Regiment serving serving in the Balkans, said meting snow on nearby mountains had resulted in trenches being waist deep in water. "Top boots were no good, as the water ran from the top of them as well as out of our trousers, yet we try to keep smiling when we can."

• Luton Town completed a London Combination Easter double over Watford in the return home fixture on Easter Monday. Having won 7-4 at Watford on Good Friday, Luton won 3-0 at home with goals from Butcher, Simms and Forsyth. Luton had a two-goal advantage at the interval, despite playing into wind, hail and snow. Both teams kicked off without members of their selected sides, but among the Luton line-up were newly married Sid Hoar, a Luton Excelsior player brought out of the stand, and an old Town player who assumed the name J. Smith at centre-half.