MARCH 1915
Not unlike our current weather patterns, March 1915 was reported to have some of
the heaviest snowfalls of any year on record. However, a motion was raised at the
local council discussing if ice cream sellers could operate on Sundays, so perhaps
Sundays in 1915 were a bit warmer than the rest of the week! An odd weather
phenomena was reported too, that of Zodiacal lights which was a triangular diffuse of
light seen over the setting sun and which appeared over Hamilton for around fifteen
minutes after dusk one evening.
Another interesting, and somewhat controversial at the time, motion raised on a
school board by the new chairperson, was to ban smoking during business talk as it
would allow the meetings to progress more speedily. Furthermore, as part of the
Lanark Insurance Committee's series of guest health lectures travelling around the
area, children were challenged to write on the subject. One little chap commented
that smoking "hurts the soul and leads to other bad habits".
More fascinating council matters were raised at Lanark County Council, whose
members were undecided on whether they should allocate the usual amount to their
marketing budget this year to capture tourists:
The council have hitherto spent fairly liberally in making the town known but the
question arises whether the holiday spirit will be sufficient this year to justify the
council laying out a sum for advertising purposes. It was pointed out that coastal
resorts for obvious reasons were not likely to be particularly sought after this
summer and the inland centres for holidays would reap the advantage which
coastal towns will lose.
Other important matters were also decided: St. Patrick’s Day celebrations would be
called off this year as it was deemed inappropriate to have any outward displays or
festivals during times of war.
There were more and more efforts being made to allow able and fit men to leave for
war duty, replacing them with women when possible. This was fairly radical thinking
for the time: a man's job was very much a man's job and only certain industries
would use women labour. The Board of Trade had called for women who were
willing to work to register their names. By doing so, this could allow men to serve
their country. It was said that in letting men go to fight, women were also doing war
service. Scotland-wide, it was accepted, by a majority vote, that females should be
able to join the police force as constables.
There was a danger that children of school age were being forced to fill in for men
which was keeping them from their education. The House of Commons discussed
how men doing jobs of lesser importance (like golf caddies) could be put to work in
agricultural labour so that children who had been doing this could go back to school.
It was not only the British who needed to be more inventive with their recruitment
policy: the Russians started enlisting their subjects who lived abroad.
In other local news, the growing Citizen Training Force democratically elected a
leader.
The Government passed an amendment to the Defence of the Realm Act (DORA)
which allowed them to take control of any industries capable of producing munitions
for the war effort. In a speech, Mr Lloyd George said he wanted more men for the
war and he had no doubt he should get them. He stated that, at this stage of the
conflict, equipment for fighting was as important as men. He warned that disputes,
like that which took place on the Clyde, were a disaster to the war effort. He said the
Government should have the power to step in and settle matters.
He also warned that certain industries and men were not working to full output
"owing to the lure of drink, which was more damaging than the German submarines"
and asked men to "not allow indulgence in drink to interfere with [the country’s]
prospects in the war". Echoing these sentiments, Kitchener said, "Slackness of men
and the temptation of drink [has] reduced the output of war factories". When the war
ends medals will be given out to those who were "thoroughly, loyally and
continuously rendered their service" through their work on the Home Front.
The Board of Trade issued further warnings that any commerce with enemy nations
would result in steep fines and punishments, even for firms that carried goods from
the Axis to neutral countries. Most recently, 52,000 bags of nitrate and a shipment of
beeswax had been seized by the Government. They were confident that the German
submarine blockade was slowly being overcome. Trade in January and February
increased, with two German submarines sunk in February. With poor weather in
Scotland and the subsequent agricultural output falling, imports are becoming more
vital.
Parliament also decided to issue new guidelines about those wishing to travel to
France and the continent. A thoughtful suggestion was made for an unexpected item
to be shipped to soldiers: French-English and English-French dictionaries. These
would help the Allied troops communicate better with each other. 1,000 had already
been sent with collections being made for more.
As with every other month there was a spate of mining accidents in the area, and
around the world, proving it was a particularly harsh and dangerous job. In the
aftermath of a Spanish mining accident over a fortnight before, there was still some
hope of finding survivors as there were reports of banging and knocking clearly
heard by clean-up teams. In various local mining accidents, one man’s foot was
lodged, and his leg then fractured, at Greenfield Colliery, and one man slipped as he
entered the shaft at Earnock Colliery, resulting in the very same injury. At the Palace
Colliery, three men were caught unaware by falling stones, one was bruised all over,
one received head injuries and one was able to walk away. To highlight the twenty
four hour working cycle in the mines, a road repairer was badly injured by a falling
rock at midnight. He was rendered unconscious and was taken to the Royal Infirmary
by motor ambulance. With it being dark down the mines at all times, and workers
being paid by the weight of output rather than hours worked, 2015's common 'nine to
five' working practices were not standard!
Better news in Hamilton with the opening of a new local cinema on Cadzow Street by
some 'local Gentlemen'. The venue was "one of the most modern, commodious and
elaborate description that has ever been opened". Another local man set on
impressing was Reverend John Albert Lees from St James Church.
He would deliver half of his sermon in Flemish so that the Belgian refugees could
come along too and hear the messages in their own language. In total, John could
speak eight languages fluently! Another impressive chap was the Bellshill dog
breeder who beat 60 other breeders to supply an Indian Rajah with his new pet,
which was chosen by the Prince’s representative.
Less inspiring were the dairy farmers known to be watering down their milk! One
man was caught red-handed when an inspector visited his farm and began to inspect
the cows. When one of the beasts moved, it became evident that there was an
elaborate apparatus of rubber tubes hidden behind a wall. It promptly fell apart when
the inspector moved in for a sample! This practice was becoming more common as
commodities like dairy products became scarcer as the war went on and was difficult
for the consumer palate to detect.
Another questionable character was brought to court: a gentleman who was married
three times had two of his previous spouses die by drowning in the bath in very
similar circumstances! One story that highlights how very different life was one
hundred years ago featured a fire in dentist's surgery in Quarry Street. It damaged
the shop underneath (a bootsellers) and raged until the shop owner went, in person,
to the fire marshal to report the blaze - phones were still fairly uncommon! In those
days, fire engines were also, commonly, still horse drawn and would have to carry
their own water supply!
Moving on to more military news, there were still various fronts where the land
battles were being fought. Ypres in Belgium was still at a stalemate: one long,
constant battle, the likes of which was relatively new to warfare - a slow, eventual
campaign for both sides.
The Advertiser reported one view that, "When the history of the present war falls to
be written, after we get the full story of Ypres, of which half has not been told, it will
contain no much more engrossing chapter than that which will deal with the gallant
fight of the British troops at Neuve Chapelle last week, but is feared at a terrible
cost."
Of the regiments engaged the 2nd Battalion Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) and the
Highland Light Infantry had suffered severely. The latest casualty list had eighteen
Cameronians dead and nineteen wounded.
Another report remarked that "Belgium is like a person slowly bleeding to death and
only the care of the whole world can save her". Nearby, in the forests of Argonne in
France, the Allies targeted German communication lines and 250 yards were gained
after some violent skirmishes when their operators were killed and the channels
smashed. The other major land fighting took place between the Russians and the
Austrians, with the Russians making gains at Vistula, Niemen and in the Carpathians
in Eastern Europe, where 6,000 Axis troops were captured with "many enemy units
annihilated to the last man". The latest casualty list has eighteen Cameronians dead
and nineteen wounded. Elsewhere in Europe, the Greek Cabinet resigned. Its
members wished to support the Allied forces, but their King was married to the sister
of the German Kaiser so would not allow it.
Many battles and skirmishes also took place on the sea, with the major Allied
offensive in early 1915 taking place at the Dardanelles where the Allies were not
faring as well as on the land. British ships taking part in the bombardments in Turkey
were Queen Elizabeth, Agamemnon, Irresistible, Majestic, Vengeance, Cornwallis,
Charlemagne, Triumph and Albion. The water was heavily mined which slowed the
Allied advance, and they were heavily shelled from the coast. One British minesweeper was blown up and the cruiser, Amethyst, was heavily damaged. It was
thought that 28 were killed but not yet officially announced in the press. In March of
1915, seven British ships were attacked by German submarines: two sunk, three still
afloat and two unconfirmed. One French and one Swedish vessel were also sunk.
On the other hand, the German cruiser, Dresden, was sunk by the British: it raised
its white flag in surrender after about ten minutes of fire, its crew were captured, and
the ship’s 3,510 tons sank to the sea floor, the vessel had escaped a battle in the
Falklands in December of 1914. The King stated of his fleet, "I have not the slightest
doubt that my Navy will uphold its great traditions".