Diary: Disabled soldiers and hat trade

Digest of stories from the Beds & Herts Saturday Telegraph: September 1st, 1917.

DS&S march

  • Discharged and disabled soldiers' march in Luton.

Last evening there was a keen discussion at a meeting of the War Pensions Committee on the poor response of Luton hat manufacturers to the appeal to train disabled soldiers in the trade.

Mr W. J. Mair said the committee was doing everything it possibly could to find ways and means to train disabled soldiers, and, considering the largest firms in the town had been written to at least three times, the response left much to be desired.

If these businessmen would recognise that the men had come back broken in health, maybe with the loss of limbs and unable to follow their usual employment owing to having fought so that those at home could carry on their businesses, they might more readily assist the committee.

Alderman Williams suggested that the committee should make application to the small manufacturers in the side streets of Luton. It was possible a good many of these would be able to teach some of the men. Here the men would have direct personal supervision.

Mr Mair said it seemed to him a case of "don't blame me - blame the other fellow". It was a question of the big manufacturers preferring to shirk the responsibility and to put in on the smaller manufacturers.

Some working men, when called up, asked what they had to fight for, Mr Mair added. They were going to fight for those at home, and the larger manufacturers had the greater responsibilities. Surely if men had large and prosperous businesses they owed something to the community.

If men left their little homes to fight for these large homes and businesses, surely it was not too much to ask those who were left to accept a bit more responsibility when the men returned to live out their lives and earn a living. Surely that should be put before a loss during the training of those men.

It was not fair for the big manufacturers to shelve the responsibility on to the smaller manufacturers, who might say, "No, the big manufacturers won't do it, why should I?" And so it would go on, with the men still waiting to be trained.

  • The interesting and inspiring record of courage and devotion to duty by Miss Violet Gladys Golding, of Dunstable, has gained for her the bestowal of the new Imperial Honour - the Medal of the Order of the British Empire. Miss Golding, who was then aged 16, resumed work at George Kent's Chaul End munition works after losing a finger and thumb through an accident in the making of detonators.

  • We understand that the the decision of the Luton Borough Education Committee, following upon the visit of the deputation of teachers on Thursday night, has resulted in important concessions to the teachers. It was decided that the grant of £20, the provisional increase for certified teachers, should date from April 1st instead of July 1st, and further, that in the event of a teacher's remuneration under the new scale exceeding £20, the full increase shall date as from April 1st. We make the above statement quite unofficially. We have endeavoured to be an authoritative statement without result, though why there should be any secrecy about the matter we fail to understand.

  • Sgt Percy Wells, son of Mr and Mrs H. J. Wells, of 4 Crawley Road, Luton, died in East Africa on August 19th from blackwater fever. Eight years ago he enlisted in the R.H.A. and went to South Africa. He was en route for England when war was declared, but was sent back to Africa and transferred to the South African Infantry.

  • An 'old soldier,' Pte Charles Joseph Morris, of the Machine Gun Corps, whose home address was 12 Hampton Road, Luton, died from wounds in a Canadian hospital in France on August 28th. He had served in past years with the Royal Fusiliers, but was discharged in 1904 owing to ear trouble cause by the reports of guns. He joined up again in July 1916.

  • To lose a husband and be left with six young children, the age of the youngest being measured in days, is the unfortunate lot of Mrs Scales, of 66 Dudley Street, Luton. Her husband, Pte Alfred Scales, of the R.A.M.C., was killed in action on the afternoon of August 23rd. He had joined the R.A.M.C. at their depot at Grove Road, Luton, in September 1914 and was drafted to France in February of this year.

  • At the early age of 17 L-Cpl Frank Fussell, of 8 Bury Park Road, Luton, enlisted in the Bedfordshire Regiment at the outbreak of war. In August last year he was drafted to France and was wounded on August 12th. He is now lying in Duston War Hospital, Northampton, suffering from three wounds in the left leg and one in the arm. Before the war he was employed at Hat manufacturers Lambie & Cain. He was also a member of All Saints' Bible Class.

  • At the Luton Borough Police Court this morning, Walter Oscar Payne, confectioner, of 5 Manchester Street, was charged with failing to close his shop at 9pm on August 25th, contrary to the requirements of the Defence of the Realm regulations. Insp Janes said he saw a young lady enter the shop at 9.10 and be served with chocolate. Mr Payne said he closed the door at nine o'clock as required, got the shop clear and put the blind up. The young lady had then gone into the shop followed by the inspector and the chocolate was weighed, but no money was tendered. Fined 10 shillings.

  • An obstruction on the line between the L&NW and Church Street stations at Dunstable caused both inconvenience and flurry on Thursday evening. Passengers from or to Luton living to the north of Dunstable or connecting with trains at Leighton Buzzard had perforce to foot it as trains could not use the short length of blocked track. As there were a number of munition workers going on the night shift [at Chaul End], and a considerable number of other passengers, there was general skedaddle along High Street North, and it was unwontedly animated for a considerable time.

  • A below strength Luton Town, lacking in pre-season training, lost 2-1 to a strong Royal Naval Depot team in a match played in front of some 5,000 sailors at Crystal Palace today. Bob Hawkes had opened the scoring for Luton, but Simms had a seemingly valid goal disallowed for offside.