Objects and Places

This page contains a list of Objects and Places that are associated with Luton's Great War 1914-1918. They have been scanned/photographed and uploaded by project volunteers and members of the public. Many of these objects are linked to individuals and/or events, and form part of a larger story.

Luton Rifle Club 50 yard range

At home on the rifle range

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

An Irish Airman Foresees His Death

An Irish Airman Foresees His Death is a poem by Irish poet William Butler Yeats written in 1918 and first published in the Macmillan edition of The Wild Swans at Coole in 1919. The poem is a soliloquy given by an aviator in the

October 1st 1914 Luton News Enlistment

From Luton and South Bedfordshire there are probably hundreds of men serving in the Regular Army and Navy.

September 17th Recruits (Mostly 5th Bedfordshire Regiment)

LN Sept 17th, 1914

5th Beds Battalion on Foreign service:

ABBOTT R., 56 Cowper Street, Luton

ALLBONE George, 331 High Town Road, Luton

ALLEN E., 76 Claremont Road, Luton

ALLEN Frederick, 26 Edward Street, Luton

September 17th Recruits (East Anglian Royal Engineers)

Of the 2nd Field Company East Anglian Divisional Royal Engineers, one of Luton's contributions to the Territorial Force, 98 per cent have volunteered for foreign service.

September 17th Recruits (Field Ambulance)

Recruiting was started in Luton last week for a new Eastern Mounted Brigade Field Ambulance unit to take the place of the present unit with the Field Army should the first? unit leave for foreign service, for which they have volunteered.

September 17th Recruits (Via Park Street Recruiting Depot)

Following is the list of the men who have enlisted since August 10th at the Luton Park Street recruiting depot in various units of the Regular Army and the Special Reserve (which takes the place of the old Militia).

October 8th Recruits

Recruiting for the 5th (Reserve) Battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment has proceeded so satisfactorily that for the present, at any rate, no more recruits are wanted. Following is the final list of those accepted from Luton:

BARRETT George, 53 Hibbert Street

The Mudlark April 1916

Produced by the officers of the 1st Battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment whilst on active service "somewhere in France", The Mudlark is a magazine that offers an unflinching and unsparing portrait of time in the trenches.

The Mudlark May 1916

The Mudlark June 1916

The Mudlark December 1916

Here and There with the M.E.F. and the E.E.F.

This 40+ page photo album contains pictures of tours served with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and the Egyptian Expeditionary Force.

Tom's books of Poetry

We do not know who Tom is, nor where he came from. But we do know that he was a member of The Bedfordshire Regiment. These two notebooks contain thoughts, feelings and emotions expressed as poetry and mental doodles that we are now priviliedged to be able to read.

YMCA marquee on the Moor

Keeping thousands of visiting troops entertained in their leisure time was one of the big challenges in Luton. While churches organised concerts for the troops, it was the YMCA that looked after their everyday welfare.

We're just the same

This poem is found inside of a British Prisoner of War Magazine called - The Link - and was composed in 1917 by an anonymous author going under the name 'Nimbo'.

The Reservist

This poem was printed in The Luton News September 1914, and tells the tale of the harsh realities of life as a reservist when the call to take-up-arms is raised.

The Reservist

Why are you crying, Mummy dear,

What is it makes you fret?

A Toast

From the outset of war, readers of The Luton News began to wax lyrical in verse. This neatly worked poem, reflecting the town's respect for the men of the North Midlands Division billeted here, was published on October 8th.