Diary: Yellow triangle for all 1/5th Bedfords

 

Stories from the Beds & Herts Saturday Telegraph: September 11th, 1915

Lieut-Col Edgar Brighten, Officer Commanding the 1/5th Bedfords, in a letter to Major Orlebar, his opposite number with the the 3/5th Bedfords in training at Windsor Park, paid tribute to his men fighting in Gallipoli.

"The casualties don't bear thinking about, and it's the one thing that nearly breaks me up, to lose all these fellows that I've been living with and swearing at for the last 12 months," he wrote. "But they are heroes one and all, and it almost impossible to pick out one that stands out from the others."

The result of the 10 days operations was 14 officers and 314 men killed, so reinforcements were needed badly from Windsor.

Without reference to the term "Yellow Devils", Col Brighten said that Major Orlebar would need to see that all officers and men going out to the 1/5th in Gallipoli had "a yellow triangle, point downwards in the back of the helmet (officers wear them below the collar in all their coats, too)".

  • Another reference to the 5th Bedfords' yellow badges came in a letter from L-Sgt Day, 3642, to his mother at 3 Jubilee Street, Luton, and his wife at 196 High Town Road. He wrote: "We had a glorious charge on Sunday, the 15th. Don't forget the old 1/5th. They are praised up a lot out here. Some of the other regiments wanted to know who those men were who wore the yellow badge on their helmets, and when we told them we were the Bedfords they said they wished they were all like us - the war would soon be over then. They said we went mad and cleared everything in front of us."

  • Among the stories about the local men killed or wounded at Gallipoli, there was one item of good news. The parents of Pte Percy Stanford, 4849, received a letter stating that their son, who had been reported "missing, believed killed" earlier in the week had rejoined his regiment. Letters from Percy himself were also received at 29 Langley Road, Luton.

  • There was good news, too, for Mrs Isabella King, of 6 Tavistock Street, Luton, whose husband had been reported "missing, believe killed". But letters from Pte William King confirmed that he was wounded and in hospital in Malta.

  • It was a similar story for the wife of Pte William Parsons at 45 Manor Path, Luton. Two weeks after he was reported missing she received an intimation that he was wounded and in hospital in Egypt.

  • Inhabitants of Luton were being encouraged to decorate their premises for the great recruiting rally to be held on October 2nd. It was planned that a procession would assemble at the Volunteer Club in Park Street early in the afternoon and then march along Cumberland Street, Albert Street, Hibbert Street, Windsor Street, Hastings Street, Stuart Street, Dunstable Road to Leagrave Road, Bury Park Road, Waldeck Road, Cromwell Road, Cromwell Hill, Old Bedford Road, North Street, Havelock Road, High Town Road, Duke Street, Hitchin Road, Church Street, Park Square and George Street to the Town Hall.

  • Luton Town footballer Pte Arthur H. Wileman, who joined the Footballers' Battalion in December, was married by special licence this morning at the Register Office in George Street West, Luton. His bride was Miss Blanche Evelyn Turner, youngest daughter of Mr and Mrs Henry Turner, of Keynsham, Somerset, and among the few guests at the quiet ceremony were Mr and Mrs Bert Arnold, of 44 Kenilworth Road, with whom the bride had been connected for a considerable time. The bridegroom was in uniform and the couple left for a honeymoon in his home community of Newhall, Derbyshire. He was to rejoin his battalion on Tuesday.

  • Mr Frederick Congreve, son of Mr J. Congreve, of London Road, Luton, is home on a fortnight's leave from serving the YMCA in France. He drives a motor lorry to the various huts, conveying the stores sold to the Tommies, and his headquarters is at Havre. The YMCA in that neighbourhood supply about 10,000 cases of stores a month, the value of these being about £7,000. Recently, when in charge of the stores, he was presented to Princess Victoria.

  • Football returned to the Luton Town ground today after what the Telegraph said seemed a dreadfully long time. But rather than the 2,000 spectators hoped for, there was a crowd of between 500 and 600 to see the Town defeat an RAMC team 5-0, after leading 2-0 at half time. After taking one goal kick in the first half, Town keeper Mitchell "returned to squat by the goalpost".