Digest of stories from The Luton News: Thursday, March 29th, 1917.

• Luton's railway yards pre-World War One.

During the last few days certain rumours have been current concerning the facilities for the carriage of straw goods from Luton to London. It was freely stated that the weekly allowance of railway trucks was to be cut down by about 90 per cent.

We are glad to be able to controvert in a very large measure the statement that the trade is going to be hit so very heavily. Nevertheless, the facilities are to be drastically reduced, and it cannot but come as a considerable blow to the trade in the midst of a busy season.

The protection of railway servants from the demands of the military authorities has been very comprehensive until quite recently, but now the Government had ordered the release of many of the men, staffs have been considerably reduced accordingly, and this has affected very extensively the despatch of goods traffic.

Most of the traffic has been in the hands of the Great Northern Railway Co for a considerable time, and therefore the most eligible person to provide the true facts is Mr T. H. Few, the stationmaster of the Luton G.N.R. Station.

In an interview on Tuesday he said: "There is no restriction of general traffic to the town any more than we have had for the last few months, except the London van trade and that, which is a large factor with the straw trade, we are having to cut down by about 50 per cent from April 2nd - Monday next. It means so far as the Luton straw trade is concerned, from the Great Northern Railway point of view, that where they have been sending two boxes they will not only be able to send one.

"It is not the collection or despatching from Luton, but the difficulty of delivery in London. The congestion of traffic in London is dreadful, and the power to deal with it is getting so much smaller, diminishing almost daily, that we cannot accept the quantity hitherto handled. As far as other businessmen are concerned it will not hurt them, as it only applies to the hat trade."

• The generosity of the farmers of the Luton district as supporters of Red Cross work was again in evidence on Monday when another sale, organised by Messrs J. Cumberland and Sons, took place at the Cattle Market. Despite inclement weather, there was a good attendance and the result was about £583 raised. Items for auction included a bullock donated by Lady Wernher, a patchwork quilt made by a lady aged 100, scores of eggs which were put up for re-auction before being donated to Wardown V.A.D. Hospital, and a bottle of "King's Ale" beer which was resold several times to raise £6.

• A resolution from Limbury Parish Council to Luton Rural District Council to improve sanitary arrangements and to prepare a sewage scheme to be implemented after the war. It was decided that the Surveyor should prepared a rough estimate of a sewage scheme.

• Sad indeed is the lot of Mrs Stanford, of 103 North Street, Luton, for her husband lies in the cancer ward of the Middlesex Hospital, her two daughters were some time ago injured in a tram smash at Cricklewood, and now she has received news from the War Office that her only son, Pte William Charles Stanford, has been wounded in the leg in France. He now lies in the surgical ward of the 4th General Hospital in France.

• Flight-Sgt George Kilby, of the R.A.M.C., has been staying with his brother, a Park Square chemist, on four days' leave from France, where he has been for nearly two years. He has had some exciting experiences out there. On one occasion the engine of his aeroplane went wrong when flying 4,000 feet above the ground. The machine crashed to earth, but Sgt Kilby marvellously escaped injury other than shock.

• At Luton County Court on Thursday, an application was made on behalf of Mrs Warner, widow of the late keeper of a lodge on the Luton Hoo Estate, to make an order in respect of money which had been paid into the Court on the widow's behalf by the Lady of the Manor (Lady Wernher). The late Mr David Warner died last year as the result of an injury sustained in working as a painter on the estate. The sum of £227 7s 10d (three years' earnings) had been paid in, and Mr William Austin, on Mrs Warner's behalf, asked for an order for the payment of £9 13s 6d for funeral expenses, as well as a weekly allowance to the widow of 15s per week. Mrs Warner would continue to reside at the London Road Lodge entrance to the park, where she had lived for some years.

• The death of Cpl Horace Victor Barton, late of Avondale Road, Luton, occurred at Birmingham on March 17th. He enlisted in the R.A.M.C. at the outbreak of war and in March last year was sent to Birmingham on munitions. He had caught a chill which developed into double pneumonia, and he passed away in the presence of his wife and parents, having been ill for four days only. The funeral took place on Saturday at the Church Cemetery, Luton, conducted by the Vicar of St Paul's, the Rev T. Bulman.

• According to a letter received by Mrs Tottingham, of 12 Henry Street, Luton, from a Sister in a hospital in France, Sgt Frederick Tottingham (pictured right) was seriously wounded on March 1st. Sgt Tottingham, only 22 years of age, joined the Bedfordshire Regiment in November 1914 when he had been employed in the Marine Store by Mr Ashton, of Duke Street. Mrs Tottingham has been officially informed by the War Office that her husband will be moved to England as soon as his wounds permit. Frederick's father, Pte Walter Tottingham, an old soldier and Corporation employee, had rejoined the Bedfordshire Regiment at the outbreak of war and died in May 1916 whilst in training.

• It has been decided by the Government the "summer time" shall be reintroduced this year, beginning at 2 o'clock in the morning of Saturday, April 8th, when clocks will be put forward one hour, and ending in the morning of Monday, September 17th.

• There was a huge crowd at the Red Cross sale at Christie's in London on Saturday, and chief interest centred in the disposal of Frederick Wilkins' famous picture, 'The Plough,' considered by many experts to be the best of this artist's work. At £5,400 the picture was knocked down to Lady Wernher, and then, to the surprise and delight of the crowd, the auctioneer announced the the purchaser had bought it to present to the nation.

• At the Borough Court yesterday there was a collective application from the managers of the local animated picture houses for permission to open from 2pm to 10 pm on Good Friday. They pointed out that the privilege had been extended to them for the past two years, and it afforded cheap entertainment for the soldiers. The application was granted.

• Second Lieut Ralph Wycombe Butcher, previously reported wounded and missing, is now reported to have been killed in action on March 14th. Mr and Mrs W. J. Butcher, of Bendrose, Braithwaite Road, Luton, have received a letter from the O.C. of the battalion said that a search party had found the body of their son close to the enemy's wires.

• An old scholar of the Luton Modern School - Pte Aubrey Julian Pearce - has given his life for his country. A letter from one of his officers said he had been killed in action during an attack by the enemy on a position the British had just taken. Pte Pearce, aged 20, was the elder son of Mr and Mrs Julian Pearce, of Wheathampstead.