Diary: Derby scheme call-up beginning

 

Stories from the Beds & Herts Saturday Telegraph: December 18th, 1915.

A proclamation dated December 20th has been posted throughout London this morning calling up Groups 2, 3, 4, and 5 of recruits under Lord Derby's scheme. The proclamation provides for men in these groups to be called up on January 20th next.

This notice, it will be seen, leaves out the first group, composed of men who are between 18 and 19 years of age and therefore at present under the age limit for foreign service. The men affected are those who are single and aged 19-20, 20-21, 21-22 and 22-23.

Claims for exemption must be made in writing to the Clerk of the Local Tribunal within 10 days. Claims may be on personal grounds or, with the consent of employers, on the ground that a man in indispensable. Fourteen clear days is to be given to a man before he has to present himself to the recruiting officer.

  • Railway pioneer George Stephenson, who famously said Luton would not get a railway in his lifetime after a meeting at the George Hotel on May 11th, 1844, went disastrously wrong over "damage to the Moor" that his line might create, was also partly to blame for Luton passengers from Leighton Buzzard being lucky to get home by midnight on the last train, according to the Telegraph. The reason the service was so bad - during the daytime too - was that Stephenson had urged the L&NWR to link up the Leighton-Dunstable line to Hatfield. He met with such blank refusals that he eventually vowed that the L&NWR should never have another opportunity. The result was that the L&NWR ran trains from Leighton to Dunstable and the Great Northern Railway operated the service from Dunstable to Hatfield via Luton. The trouble then appeared to be that while the L&NWR trains waited for their main line passengers at Leighton, the GNR declined to wait for the L&NWR train to arrive at Dunstable. And that could mean a long wait at Dunstable for passengers travelling on to Luton if the Leighton train arrived late and their Luton train left on time.

  • Mr W. Tilcock, of 60 Brunswick Street, Luton, who was officially notified last week that his only son, L-Cpl Percy Tilcock, 1/2nd Field Company, East Anglian Divisional Engineers, had died of wounds received while serving with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, had received a letter from the matron on the hospital ship on which his son died to say he had been buried at sea on November 28th. The former Vauxhall Motors worker would shortly have celebrated his 21st birthday.

  • The funeral had taken place in Marlow, Bucks, of Sapper Amos Charles Moody, 3/2nd Field Company, East Anglian Divisional Engineers, who had been employed as a postman at Luton until July, when he enlisted. Aged 20, he had died from pleurisy and pneumonia after only a few days illness. He had been quartered at 11 Edward Street, Luton.

  • Pte Edward Grubb, of 9 Windmill Street, Luton, was in hospital at Alexandria for a second time. He was this time suffering from enteric fever, and he hoped to be on his way home in a fortnight. The incident happened on Tuesday morning, and Mr Allen, who lived with his brother at 13 St Saviour's Crescent, died in the Bute Hospital at 5.20 the same day.

  • An inquest on George Allen, aged 27, who died after falling into a vat of boiling dye at the Hubbard works in Regent Street on December 14th, was adjourned until next Wednesday so that the jury could visit the scene.

  • The public of Luton were warned of a fraud being carried on involving farthings. A few years previously farthings were being gilded to appear like half-sovereigns and a large number of people were defrauded. Now the same trick was being repeated with farthings being coated in silver to look like sixpences. People were advised to examine coins in future.

  • Although it was a one-sided match against a team composed of amateurs who had not played at a high level, Luton Town went a goal down at home to Northants Yeomanry. But the Blues ran out convincing 9-2 winners with goals from Butcher (4), Wileman (3), Bob Hawkes and Moore.

  • With next Saturday being Christmas Day, the Telegraph would not be published.