Stories from the Beds & Herts Saturday Telegraph, January 23rd, 1915

Chief Constable David Teale said billeting was being carried out by the military while not being accompanied by a police officer.

He told the Telegraph: "You may put it very plainly to the public that neither an officer nor a soldier has any authority whatever to billet soldiers on householders. Billeting rests entirely with the police, who alone are the persons to say who shall have the soldiers and how many they shall have.

"An officer or soldier has no power to commandeer any building. This is done by the police through the billet master. I am the billet master for the town."

• Applications had been received from 140 architects to compete for a design for a new secondary school at Luton. Eight, including two Luton architects, had been selected by Beds Education Committee to submit designs by April 1st. The proposed new Modern School for boys was to be erected on a site between Biscot Road and New Bedford Road.

• In response to further criticism at a Luton Town Council meeting over the running of the town's trams - "a most wretched system," the Telegraph advocated that the Council should take over the running of the system. "With the electricity undertaking in their own hands, the Corporation are in an exceptionally good position for running the trams."

• Record levels of rainfall had been recorded in the nine weeks up to January 5th. The Thames Conservancy reported that 12.36 inches of rain, representing 3,015,000,000 tons or 682,507,000,000 gallons of water (average rainfall 376,042,000,000 gallons), had fallen over the 3,812 square miles of the Thames basin. The Telegraph reported that there had been nothing like it in the 31 years that records had been kept. "It certainly has been bad enough for us, but what must it have been for the poor fellows in the trenches at the seat of war?"

• A boy accidentally treading on some combustible firework may have triggered a blaze at the shop of Mr Walters, wholesale newsagent of 23 Barber's Lane, that gave the fire brigade one of its toughest hour's work in some time. Other fireworks and old newspapers ignited, and firemen had difficulty getting to close quarters with the blaze due to dense smoke. Six firemen were temporarily overcome by the smoke. The upper floor of the shop was severely damaged. Damage was estimated at £200.

• A presentation was made to Sgt Major Cook, of the 23rd Battalion London Regiment for volunteering his services as an instructor to the Luton Volunteer Training Corps. Mr Harry Inwards, who made the presentation, said recruits were continuing to enrol in good numbers and that the progress made by the Corps was all that could be desired.

• A new military recruitment campaign could be about to start in Luton, the Telegraph speculated. The town had already done splendidly but there were many who had not yeat realised the call to the single young men. Some Lutonians who had enlisted had joined the Highland Division at Bedford. "Their appearance on leave clad in the kilt has been quite a surprise to their friends who did not know they had enlisted."

• Henri Vanzebroeck, a Belgian soldier interned in Holland and whose family were refugees housed in St Albans, wrote: "The generous hospitality, truly paternal, which has exceeded all expectation, is a thing which will always marked in our lives. Our children, believe me, will hold for ever, graven on their hearts, the unforgettable memory of their great English protectors."

• There has been quite an extraordinary epidemic of measles among the Highlanders stationed at Bedford, and up to January 9th no fewer than 416 cases had been dealt with, 27 of them terminating fatally. The seriousness of the epidemic, it is said, arises from the fact that the men come chiefly from districts where such diseases are unknown. If that be the case, it seems a pity that the troops are kept at a town like Bedford instead of being transferred to an area like Dunstable, where the temperature is of a more bracing character.

• Luton Town had the support of about 200 Lutonians serving with the East Anglian Engineers in their return Southern League match at Norwich. But despite fielding their strongest team they were beaten 5-1. Luton reserves, playing at home against Norwich Reserves won 7-1 after leading 1-0 at the interval.