As recorded by the Parish Magazines 1913-1919.
Published in Windlesora 23 (2007)
© WLHG
The Parish Magazine for 1913 showed no premonition of the coming catastrophe, apart from one or two articles mentioning the exploits of soldiers. The first reference to the War comes a month after the outbreak of hostilities in September 1914 and consists of a list of those serving in the Naval and Military Forces of the Empire. There are 43 names, many of them familiar to those who attend the Annual Remembrance Day service in the Parish Church, when they are read aloud. An article by the Vicar describes the war as ‘the most terrible and momentous war that the world has ever seen’. His words were uncannily prophetic. A meeting held in a full Tapestry Hall on the evening of Monday, August 17th had heard speeches from Colonel Follett, the Rector of Beaumont, and the Vicar, and had seen the establishment of a committee to look after the interests of the wives and families of servicemen. It consisted of nineteen men including the village landowners and other notable villagers. A ladies committee of nine ladies was to provide garments for soldiers and ‘the distressed Belgium population’. Funds were established and First Aid courses were in full swing. In October a prayer and a patriotic song were published, and news items included the information that the bell at St Luke’s Church was tolled at 12 o’clock every day to remind parishioners to pray for our sailors and soldiers. Mr Romaine (of the Priory) formed a contingent of Special Constables – 24 men – who drilled twice a week at Beaumont College. The number of men serving was now 75. The ladies committee had despatched a quantity of clothes and £15 to the Belgian Relief Fund. The first death on active service was recorded, that of Dick Beasley, a stoker on HMS Hague, torpedoed in the North Sea.
The November magazine carries a long article which emphasises the need to keep cool, remember duty, help each other and pray. The writer expresses the hope that by the time the magazine is printed, the war may be over! The number of men serving was 80, and in December, 89. ‘The Invasion of Old Windsor’ is recorded. On the afternoon of November 20th, 300 officers and men of the West Surrey Regiment were billeted in the village – a unique experience. They had received a hearty welcome and the Tapestry Hall had been made into a recreation room. Refreshments were provided by Mr King, confectioner.
January 1915’s magazine records an entertainment in the Tapestry Hall for the families of men serving in the forces. A story entitled For Home and England was published, and in February The Christian Soldier is illustrated by a photograph of the late Earl Roberts. Our needleworkers had despatched clothes to the Coldstream Guards, the National Reserve, the Westminster Hospital, Belgian refugees, 59th Infantry Brigade and Belgian and Indian troops. The number of men serving was now 119.
In July an article begins ‘Our Parish seems very quiet now that the soldiers have left us’. They had behaved well and left a very pleasant impression. More names were added to the Roll of Honour of those killed in the forces. A War Hymn was published, and also the information that the ladies sewing circle were now making sandbags. Colonel Follett called a meeting in the Tapestry Hall to pass the following resolution: ‘That on the anniversary of the declaration of a righteous war, this meeting records its inflexible determination to continue to a victorious end the struggle in maintenance of those ideals of liberty and justice which are the common and sacred cause of the Allies.’ Needless to say, the gentlemen all spoke and the motion was carried. Major Madden, recently returned from the Front, ‘spoke with much eloquence and feeling’. Mr Peters said that out of a population of 1200, 180 men had now joined the forces. The ladies were thanked for the sandbags, Major Madden interposing to say that his regiment used 12,000 sandbags in one night. The meeting concluded with the singing of the National Anthem.
In November the Great National 1,000,000 Shilling Fund was announced, to provide comforts for the gallant Belgian Army. Colonel Madden, who had been seriously wounded, was said to be making good progress, but his death was reported in December and though he was buried in Ireland, a memorial service was held in Old Windsor where he had been a churchwarden for five years. Seven Old Windsor men had now perished.
In January 1916 an article by Mrs Arthur Phillips starts ‘Surely in the memory of man no such swift and far-reaching changes have occurred as those affecting women’s work and opportunities in the New Era. In the early days of August 1914, the world, as known to our parents and ourselves went to pieces. The amazement, the misery of those first days of the Great War will never be forgotten by those who lived through them’. The illustrations show a woman Police Volunteer and a woman driving a harvester. A sale was held in aid of the National Egg Collection. 1000 children were entertained to a party in the Royal Mews; 60 children of sailors and soldiers went from Old Windsor. Articles deal with all aspects of the war, and a collection is made for the Belgian Soldiers Fund.
In July there is an appeal for the Star and Garter Home in Richmond where disabled servicemen are cared for. The names of men who had been killed were regularly announced on the Roll of Honour of the Parish. The managers of the school decided to start a branch of the War Savings Association in the village, to be launched by a meeting in the Tapestry Hall. The September magazine reports that this was well attended. The Vicar appealed for good attendances at services connected with the National Mission of Repentance and Hope, but it appears that these were not so popular, possibly due to bad weather in November.
In 1917 Quartermaster Sergeant Payne of the Tapestries was mentioned in the dispatches of Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig. The women’s sewing circle continued to make sandbags, clothes for the troops and for Serbian children. A War Shrine, with a list of all those fighting and those who have died was to be erected ‘within the railings of St Luke’s Church’. Voluntary rationing was introduced – each person to restrict themselves to 4lbs bread, 2½lbs meat and ¾lb
of sugar per week. The shrine, made of oak, ‘one of the best we have seen’ was duly dedicated in April and the names of 22 dead were inscribed upon it. There were receptacles to be kept filled with flowers. The magazine records the award of the Military Medal to Sapper William Henry Nicholls. May 12th would be celebrated as Mesopotamia Day with collections for comforts for those serving there. In the event £13-87 was raised.
In August the award of the DSO to Major Lome Paulet Owen Tudor for conspicuous gallantry was announced. Private George Foster won the DCM and Staff Sergeant-Major Payne the Meritorious Service Medal, his fifth medal! At Christmastime the choirmaster (and school master) Mr WE Ellis organised a Carol-Singing party around the parish to raise money for the work of the National Institute for the Blind with servicemen.
Unfortunately we do not have a copy of the 1918 magazine. In April 1919 ihe Demobilization was welcomed, and with the return of the Scoutmaster and the Assistant Scoutmaster the local Scout Troop ‘has now taken on a new lease of life, and has now reached a total strength of 40’. The possibility of forming a Wolf Cub Pack was mentioned. It was pointed out that 43 scouts had served in the forces and 3 had died. There were articles about the ‘New Nations’, the Czechs and the Poles.
August 2nd was the day of Old Windsor’s Peace Celebration. ‘And what a day that was. We shall never forget that day’. It started with a short service in the Tapestry Hall and then the demobilised soldiers and sailors, led by a band and followed by the Parish Councillors and many parishioners marched through the village, stopping at the Village Shrine, and continuing to Beaumont for a day of sports and entertainments. ‘It was so delightful to see “the Boys” back again and to be all together again once more after the terrible ordeals they had passed through, and the trying anxieties we had undergone’. There was tea and dancing for 350 people and the day concluded with the singing of the National Anthem at 10.30pm. The magazine then recounts the resumption of the annual choir outing to the seaside, the Children’s Peace Day celebrations for 4000 children in the Home Park and the Scout camp. The War Savings Association was wound up. The War Memorial Tablet in the Parish Church was commissioned.
On a lighter note it is interesting to note a sudden rise in the number of baptisms, an encouraging sign that the war was over.
Windsor Local History Group 