Some Ely News Items from 1914-1920
The stories on this page do not have a common theme - they were simply gathered from the pages of the Ely Standard and Cambridge Independent Press to share a little more about the people of Ely and their lives during World War One. Unless stated otherwise, any date shown is the date of the newspaper in which the article was found.
In the first months of the War the Ely Standard carried several accounts of young men who had attempted to enlist but were rejected as unfit to serve. One of these was nineteen year old Harold Hardcastle Beeby who had recently left Ely's King's School who , however, was not prepared to take "no" for an answer: "In the early days of the war he was several times rejected by the Army on the score of ill-health. Accordingly he joined the Italian branch of the British Red Cross, and was soon driving an ambulance in Italy and Austria. Returning home from this he was accepted as a cadet in the R.F.A. whence he transferred to the RAF, and later to the Kite Balloon Section, where he spent his time observing London from Richmond Park and travelling across England in solo balloons. Next he was discharged from the RAF with a large number of men unfit for general service. Accordingly he joined the French branch of the Red Cross and finished his war in the Vosges Mountains!" Harold later became a commercial traveller, and when the Second World War began he once more sought to serve - this time as a dispatch rider in London.
The Reserve Regiment of the Suffolk Yeomanry, 250 strong, was billeted in Ely. The Dispensary and a large shop on Forehill were given over to them as reading and recreation rooms while a large marquee was erected on the barrack square as a dining tent. 18th December 1914
At the beginning of 1915 the Home Office issued advice about what to do in an air raid, which may be summarised as: (1) go to a cellar or lower room; (2) do not gather as a crowd to watch the bombardment as this may lead to unnecessary loss of life; (3) if you hear aircraft overhead crowds should disperse and take shelter; (4) unexploded shells or bombs should not be touched. Mr Charles Bidwell, Chairman of Ely's Emergency Committee, wrote: "The Isle of Ely is so far distant from the coast and does not contain large factories or other buildings which would be likely to attract the enemy, that I venture to think this district is not likely to be attacked. At the same time it is well to be prepared for any contingency in the event of trouble so as to avoid unnecessary panic." 8th January 1915
All over the Isle of Ely teachers galvanized their pupils into supporting the men at the Front and for the girl pupils in particular this meant one thing - knitting. The pupils at the school in Queen Adelaide were soon in a routine of sending out weekly parcels for soldiers, and the newspaper of 12th February 1915 reported that supplies had already been sent to the King's Own Scottish Borderers, the Norfolks, the Bedfords, the Northamptonshires, the Northumberland Fusiliers, the Wiltshires, the Suffolks, the Royal Artillery, the Royal Army Medical Corps and the Army Service Corps. The children had been sent personal postcards by the recipients of their parcels.
National Reservists were posted into the area to help guard strategic points. The "Prickwillow Correspondent" described being challenged unexpectedly by a man he did not recognise in February 1915 :"I fancy war guards at the railway bridge are nearly fed up with this mud, rain and wind, and I know that one at least has offered his services for the front by way of a change." If this last statement was accurate, then the soldier would have found the unpleasant conditions at Prickwillow were actually good training for the Front!
Approximately 2000 German Prisoners of War, in four trains, stopped at Ely station and were given water. This caused great interest and was for many their first, and only, sight of the enemy. 30th April 1915
The Norwich to London Express came off the rails when a signal post fell in front of the train. The post had been brought down by the fierce gale then blowing between Adelaide Junction and Ely Station as the train passed Willow Walk but, fortunately, the train itself was so heavy that, although it left the rails, it did not tip off the embankment, and consequently the carriages themselves stayed on the rails. The train was full of passengers, including a lot of soldiers, but there were no injuries and the train, with a new engine, was able to proceed on its way an hour later.
18th February 1916
Great Eastern Railways' new ambulance train went on a fundraising tour of the area prior to being sent out to France, including a stop at Ely Station. Tickets to view the train were priced at 6d and the proceeds were to buy comforts for the railway engineering section serving with the Army in France. The train consisted of 16 coaches (a total length of 884 feet) with wards / room for 320 lying down and 58 sitting cases as well as an operating theatre, kitchen and accommodation for medical staff. It attracted an interested crowd and was described in detail in the local newspaper of 2nd June 1916.
A British documentary cum propaganda film "The Battle of the Somme" went on general release on 21st August 1916. It was shot by two official war photographers and showed trench warfare, marching infantry, artillery firing on German positions, British troops waiting to attack on 1 July, treatment of wounded British and German soldiers, British and German dead and captured German equipment and positions. However, the photographers were necessarily so far from the fighting Front that a, still famous, scene during which British troops crouch in a ditch then "go over the top" was staged for the camera behind the lines (the 1916 audience would not have known this.). The film was a smash hit, and when it was shown at the Ely Cinema Hall in Market Street the crowds flocked to see it. The Ely Standard reported that there were three showings each day on 6th, 7th, 8th November 1916, during which time between 4,000 -5,000 people passed through the doors. For the majority of those present it would have been their first view of where their menfolk were serving. 10th November 1916.
Early in 1917 came news of an invasion by the Austrians….. “The extremely cold weather has caused an extraordinary migration of birds from the continent to Britain… another Austrian seagull was shot down at March by Mr J. Eggett, a ring on the leg bearing the inscription “40187 Lotos, Prag. Austria”.” This gull fared more badly than the first recorded “Austrian seagull” which had been captured at Sittingbourne in Kent! 9th February 1917
The government has ordered a change to the printing of newspapers as from now on they must be pre-ordered ( i.e. no casual sales), thus only the exact number would be printed. The price of the Ely Standard goes up to 1 ½ d because of the costs of paper and printing. 20th April 1917
“Much excitement was evinced at the descent of an aeroplane on Mr Lister’s farm…The airman had lost his bearings and came down for information. The machine lighted in a grass field, but just as it reached the edge of a dyke it gave a lurch forward, so that it came to rest with the front part of the machine on one side of the dyke and the tail on the other. Plenty of help was soon available and professional help was telephoned for and very soon on the spot. The machine was overhauled and happily there were no breakages to be found. It was soon hauled back over the dyke and in a very short time was up and off again. Hundreds of visitors were on the scene, and had the satisfaction of seeing a perfect and pretty ascent which was much appreciated and applauded by all present, most of whom had not previously witnessed an aeroplane ascend.” 4th May 1917
Twenty-one year old Phyllis Augusta M Tuck, lately of Ely, was taken ill and died while involved in war work on Salisbury Plain. Phyllis was originally from Hampshire and her father was a land agent for the Duke of Northumberland. She had been a volunteer from January 1916 at the YMCA No.4 Hut at Larkhill Camp (serving the Australian Field Artillery Brigade 8th Division) and her superintendent wrote: "..when the news reaches those men in France there will be many a heartache... You may be as proud of her as any parent of a son who has heroically died on the battlefield." 25th May 1917
Farmers needed help at harvest time, and, with so many farmworkers serving at the front, it was made possible for farmers to ask local depots for help, or even request their own men back for a fortnight at key times. Groups of public schoolboys were also sometimes recruited to fill the gaps during school holidays. In both 1917 and 1918 Mr Hiam of Prickwillow had groups of boys from schools such as Eton, Rugby, Clifton and Westminster helping with the early potato harvest. The local schoolmaster and others from the village organised entertainments and camp concerts for them in the evenings and apparently the boys had a great time on their “holiday”! 13th July 1917
Over 1917 Needhams School Patriotic Fund raised £11 18s 9d which was composed of :
Mr J.C. Laxton of the Bell Hotel in Ely, informed Ely Urban Council that now his man Reeve had been called up he would no longer be able to find horses and a man to drive the local fire engine! Reeve had driven the fire engine for several years. 3rd May 1918
“Miss Margaret Barber, daughter of the former vicar of Stuntney, who after nursing in Serbia, went out to Armenia with the Lord Mayor’s Relief Expedition, is again devoting herself to the Armenians, who are fleeing in thousands from the Turks across the Caucasus Mountains. She was on her way home from nursing Polish refugees in East Russia, but on arriving at Moscow in June, heard of the awful sufferings of these people. Her party, which has gone to Vladikavkaz, consists apparently of six women. Miss Barber obtained from the Germans in Moscow a letter stating she was to be treated as a Red Cross nurse.” 30th August 1918 (Read the whole of Margaret's wartime story on the "Five go to War" page of this website.)
"One of the results of this war has been a great revival of spiritualism. By spiritualism is meant attempts to commune with the spirits of the departed by means of a medium, automatic writing, or table turning. Many have been led by their sad losses to take an interest in this matter who never thought of it before. It is important that the attitude which members of the church should take to this subject should be clearly understood. On the Sunday mornings in October the Vicar of St Mary's will preach a course of sermons dealing with this difficult and interesting question: (1) The claims of spiritualism (2) The methods of spiritualism (3) The dangers of spiritualism (4) The communion of saints." 4th October 1918
“The death occurred at his residence in West Fen Road, Ely, on Saturday of Mr. George Holland, a Crimean veteran. Mr Holland, who was in his 84th year, was a native of Ely. He joined the Army early in life and served with the 20th Foot in the Crimean War. He took part in the battles of Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman and was before Sebastopol, the fortifications of which he helped to build. He was wounded at the battle of Inkerman, and after being invalided out of the Army returned to Ely where for some time he worked under the old Board of Health. He afterwards obtained employment on the G.E.R. (Great Eastern Railways). He was stationed at March, and had served the company for 49 years. The deceased was well known, and his graphic description of incidents in the Crimea campaign were always listened to with interest. He witnessed the charge of the Light Brigade, and was the proud possessor of the English and Turkish medals, the former having four bars.”
George was described as “a good soldier and a good Christian” – he was one of the oldest members of the local Methodist church, and his burial service was conducted by the local circuit superintendent Revd. G Vipond-Byles.
George Holland was buried with military honours – his coffin draped in a Union Flag and the Last Post sounded at the graveside. The internment was attended, amongst others, by an honour guard made up of a detachment of the Royal Air Force from the local Flying Park. 29th November 1918
The parish of Prickwillow, given its size and scattered nature, was actually a major fundraiser for soldiers’ charities and during 1918 raised over 100 guineas for St Dunstan’s Hospital which particularly worked with soldiers who had been blinded. At a fundraising whist drive just before Christmas a guest of honour was Sergt. G. Craddock of the Royal Field Artillery who was the eldest son of the new schoolmaster. Sergt. Craddock was one of those who had benefited from St Dunstan’s work as, after three and a half years at the Front, he had been seriously wounded in October 1917, losing both eyes and his right hand, as well as having a badly burnt left hand. 20th December 1918
Many local soldiers were given home leave for Christmas 1918 and attended the Christmas Day service at the Cathedral.
In February 1919 the first Fenland skating match was held for many years on Mr Flanders Hopkins' Wash at Minty Fen. It was attended by hundreds of people.
In April 1919 Edith May Green (nee Jackson) appeared in Ely Police Court, having abandoned her nine weeks old son Eric on the back doorstep of Mrs Emma Singleterry. Edith's husband, Sergeant Alexander Douglas Green of the Leicesters, who had been serving in Egypt, was then in hospital in Brighton and his leg had been amputated. Edith was in lodgings in Cambridge and was penniless and desperate; she had been a school friend of Daisy and Eva Singleterry and hoped that her old friends and their mother would help out temporarily. Rather than approach them directly, she came to Ely after dark with a companion, and left baby Eric on their back doorstep with some food, clothing and a spirit lamp, as well as a note explaining herself. Once she was certain the baby had been found, Edith had fled. (It was not explained why she did not go to her own family - although her mother was now widowed and in Wisbech.) It is clear from the newspaper account that Edith certainly expected to reclaim Eric, so the Police Court bound her over for three months and sent the child to the Cambridge workhouse until Edith was in a position to reclaim him. 4th April 1919
The return of the Cambridgeshire Regiment Cadre takes place. All local men who served with the Cambridgeshires are now home. However The cadre of the 11th (Cambridgeshire Battalion) Suffolks does not arrive back until later, after leaving Arras on 11th November 1919. 23rd May 1919.
Early in July 1919 Reverend Frederick James Bywaters returned to serve in St Etheldreda's Church in Queen Adelaide; he had been a chaplain to the Forces for two years and in France since September 1917.
In July 1919 a soldier died in the hospital of Ely Workhouse. This was 32 year old Elijah Parker from Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire who had been in the infirmary since 23rd April. Elijah had been both gassed and suffered from trench feet during his time in service. Having been "on the road" before the War, Elijah had gone back to the travelling life, but his post-war condition was such that the police were called in to rescue him and take him for treatment. He lingered on for three months but was not strong enough to survive.
In the first months of the War the Ely Standard carried several accounts of young men who had attempted to enlist but were rejected as unfit to serve. One of these was nineteen year old Harold Hardcastle Beeby who had recently left Ely's King's School who , however, was not prepared to take "no" for an answer: "In the early days of the war he was several times rejected by the Army on the score of ill-health. Accordingly he joined the Italian branch of the British Red Cross, and was soon driving an ambulance in Italy and Austria. Returning home from this he was accepted as a cadet in the R.F.A. whence he transferred to the RAF, and later to the Kite Balloon Section, where he spent his time observing London from Richmond Park and travelling across England in solo balloons. Next he was discharged from the RAF with a large number of men unfit for general service. Accordingly he joined the French branch of the Red Cross and finished his war in the Vosges Mountains!" Harold later became a commercial traveller, and when the Second World War began he once more sought to serve - this time as a dispatch rider in London.
The Reserve Regiment of the Suffolk Yeomanry, 250 strong, was billeted in Ely. The Dispensary and a large shop on Forehill were given over to them as reading and recreation rooms while a large marquee was erected on the barrack square as a dining tent. 18th December 1914
At the beginning of 1915 the Home Office issued advice about what to do in an air raid, which may be summarised as: (1) go to a cellar or lower room; (2) do not gather as a crowd to watch the bombardment as this may lead to unnecessary loss of life; (3) if you hear aircraft overhead crowds should disperse and take shelter; (4) unexploded shells or bombs should not be touched. Mr Charles Bidwell, Chairman of Ely's Emergency Committee, wrote: "The Isle of Ely is so far distant from the coast and does not contain large factories or other buildings which would be likely to attract the enemy, that I venture to think this district is not likely to be attacked. At the same time it is well to be prepared for any contingency in the event of trouble so as to avoid unnecessary panic." 8th January 1915
All over the Isle of Ely teachers galvanized their pupils into supporting the men at the Front and for the girl pupils in particular this meant one thing - knitting. The pupils at the school in Queen Adelaide were soon in a routine of sending out weekly parcels for soldiers, and the newspaper of 12th February 1915 reported that supplies had already been sent to the King's Own Scottish Borderers, the Norfolks, the Bedfords, the Northamptonshires, the Northumberland Fusiliers, the Wiltshires, the Suffolks, the Royal Artillery, the Royal Army Medical Corps and the Army Service Corps. The children had been sent personal postcards by the recipients of their parcels.
National Reservists were posted into the area to help guard strategic points. The "Prickwillow Correspondent" described being challenged unexpectedly by a man he did not recognise in February 1915 :"I fancy war guards at the railway bridge are nearly fed up with this mud, rain and wind, and I know that one at least has offered his services for the front by way of a change." If this last statement was accurate, then the soldier would have found the unpleasant conditions at Prickwillow were actually good training for the Front!
Approximately 2000 German Prisoners of War, in four trains, stopped at Ely station and were given water. This caused great interest and was for many their first, and only, sight of the enemy. 30th April 1915
The Norwich to London Express came off the rails when a signal post fell in front of the train. The post had been brought down by the fierce gale then blowing between Adelaide Junction and Ely Station as the train passed Willow Walk but, fortunately, the train itself was so heavy that, although it left the rails, it did not tip off the embankment, and consequently the carriages themselves stayed on the rails. The train was full of passengers, including a lot of soldiers, but there were no injuries and the train, with a new engine, was able to proceed on its way an hour later.
18th February 1916
Great Eastern Railways' new ambulance train went on a fundraising tour of the area prior to being sent out to France, including a stop at Ely Station. Tickets to view the train were priced at 6d and the proceeds were to buy comforts for the railway engineering section serving with the Army in France. The train consisted of 16 coaches (a total length of 884 feet) with wards / room for 320 lying down and 58 sitting cases as well as an operating theatre, kitchen and accommodation for medical staff. It attracted an interested crowd and was described in detail in the local newspaper of 2nd June 1916.
A British documentary cum propaganda film "The Battle of the Somme" went on general release on 21st August 1916. It was shot by two official war photographers and showed trench warfare, marching infantry, artillery firing on German positions, British troops waiting to attack on 1 July, treatment of wounded British and German soldiers, British and German dead and captured German equipment and positions. However, the photographers were necessarily so far from the fighting Front that a, still famous, scene during which British troops crouch in a ditch then "go over the top" was staged for the camera behind the lines (the 1916 audience would not have known this.). The film was a smash hit, and when it was shown at the Ely Cinema Hall in Market Street the crowds flocked to see it. The Ely Standard reported that there were three showings each day on 6th, 7th, 8th November 1916, during which time between 4,000 -5,000 people passed through the doors. For the majority of those present it would have been their first view of where their menfolk were serving. 10th November 1916.
Early in 1917 came news of an invasion by the Austrians….. “The extremely cold weather has caused an extraordinary migration of birds from the continent to Britain… another Austrian seagull was shot down at March by Mr J. Eggett, a ring on the leg bearing the inscription “40187 Lotos, Prag. Austria”.” This gull fared more badly than the first recorded “Austrian seagull” which had been captured at Sittingbourne in Kent! 9th February 1917
The government has ordered a change to the printing of newspapers as from now on they must be pre-ordered ( i.e. no casual sales), thus only the exact number would be printed. The price of the Ely Standard goes up to 1 ½ d because of the costs of paper and printing. 20th April 1917
“Much excitement was evinced at the descent of an aeroplane on Mr Lister’s farm…The airman had lost his bearings and came down for information. The machine lighted in a grass field, but just as it reached the edge of a dyke it gave a lurch forward, so that it came to rest with the front part of the machine on one side of the dyke and the tail on the other. Plenty of help was soon available and professional help was telephoned for and very soon on the spot. The machine was overhauled and happily there were no breakages to be found. It was soon hauled back over the dyke and in a very short time was up and off again. Hundreds of visitors were on the scene, and had the satisfaction of seeing a perfect and pretty ascent which was much appreciated and applauded by all present, most of whom had not previously witnessed an aeroplane ascend.” 4th May 1917
Twenty-one year old Phyllis Augusta M Tuck, lately of Ely, was taken ill and died while involved in war work on Salisbury Plain. Phyllis was originally from Hampshire and her father was a land agent for the Duke of Northumberland. She had been a volunteer from January 1916 at the YMCA No.4 Hut at Larkhill Camp (serving the Australian Field Artillery Brigade 8th Division) and her superintendent wrote: "..when the news reaches those men in France there will be many a heartache... You may be as proud of her as any parent of a son who has heroically died on the battlefield." 25th May 1917
Farmers needed help at harvest time, and, with so many farmworkers serving at the front, it was made possible for farmers to ask local depots for help, or even request their own men back for a fortnight at key times. Groups of public schoolboys were also sometimes recruited to fill the gaps during school holidays. In both 1917 and 1918 Mr Hiam of Prickwillow had groups of boys from schools such as Eton, Rugby, Clifton and Westminster helping with the early potato harvest. The local schoolmaster and others from the village organised entertainments and camp concerts for them in the evenings and apparently the boys had a great time on their “holiday”! 13th July 1917
Over 1917 Needhams School Patriotic Fund raised £11 18s 9d which was composed of :
- 11s 6d smokes and comforts for soldiers
- £4 5s local POW Fund
- £1 4s overseas club
- £3 9s 9d blind soldiers’ children
- £2 8s 6d national egg collection
Mr J.C. Laxton of the Bell Hotel in Ely, informed Ely Urban Council that now his man Reeve had been called up he would no longer be able to find horses and a man to drive the local fire engine! Reeve had driven the fire engine for several years. 3rd May 1918
“Miss Margaret Barber, daughter of the former vicar of Stuntney, who after nursing in Serbia, went out to Armenia with the Lord Mayor’s Relief Expedition, is again devoting herself to the Armenians, who are fleeing in thousands from the Turks across the Caucasus Mountains. She was on her way home from nursing Polish refugees in East Russia, but on arriving at Moscow in June, heard of the awful sufferings of these people. Her party, which has gone to Vladikavkaz, consists apparently of six women. Miss Barber obtained from the Germans in Moscow a letter stating she was to be treated as a Red Cross nurse.” 30th August 1918 (Read the whole of Margaret's wartime story on the "Five go to War" page of this website.)
"One of the results of this war has been a great revival of spiritualism. By spiritualism is meant attempts to commune with the spirits of the departed by means of a medium, automatic writing, or table turning. Many have been led by their sad losses to take an interest in this matter who never thought of it before. It is important that the attitude which members of the church should take to this subject should be clearly understood. On the Sunday mornings in October the Vicar of St Mary's will preach a course of sermons dealing with this difficult and interesting question: (1) The claims of spiritualism (2) The methods of spiritualism (3) The dangers of spiritualism (4) The communion of saints." 4th October 1918
“The death occurred at his residence in West Fen Road, Ely, on Saturday of Mr. George Holland, a Crimean veteran. Mr Holland, who was in his 84th year, was a native of Ely. He joined the Army early in life and served with the 20th Foot in the Crimean War. He took part in the battles of Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman and was before Sebastopol, the fortifications of which he helped to build. He was wounded at the battle of Inkerman, and after being invalided out of the Army returned to Ely where for some time he worked under the old Board of Health. He afterwards obtained employment on the G.E.R. (Great Eastern Railways). He was stationed at March, and had served the company for 49 years. The deceased was well known, and his graphic description of incidents in the Crimea campaign were always listened to with interest. He witnessed the charge of the Light Brigade, and was the proud possessor of the English and Turkish medals, the former having four bars.”
George was described as “a good soldier and a good Christian” – he was one of the oldest members of the local Methodist church, and his burial service was conducted by the local circuit superintendent Revd. G Vipond-Byles.
George Holland was buried with military honours – his coffin draped in a Union Flag and the Last Post sounded at the graveside. The internment was attended, amongst others, by an honour guard made up of a detachment of the Royal Air Force from the local Flying Park. 29th November 1918
The parish of Prickwillow, given its size and scattered nature, was actually a major fundraiser for soldiers’ charities and during 1918 raised over 100 guineas for St Dunstan’s Hospital which particularly worked with soldiers who had been blinded. At a fundraising whist drive just before Christmas a guest of honour was Sergt. G. Craddock of the Royal Field Artillery who was the eldest son of the new schoolmaster. Sergt. Craddock was one of those who had benefited from St Dunstan’s work as, after three and a half years at the Front, he had been seriously wounded in October 1917, losing both eyes and his right hand, as well as having a badly burnt left hand. 20th December 1918
Many local soldiers were given home leave for Christmas 1918 and attended the Christmas Day service at the Cathedral.
In February 1919 the first Fenland skating match was held for many years on Mr Flanders Hopkins' Wash at Minty Fen. It was attended by hundreds of people.
In April 1919 Edith May Green (nee Jackson) appeared in Ely Police Court, having abandoned her nine weeks old son Eric on the back doorstep of Mrs Emma Singleterry. Edith's husband, Sergeant Alexander Douglas Green of the Leicesters, who had been serving in Egypt, was then in hospital in Brighton and his leg had been amputated. Edith was in lodgings in Cambridge and was penniless and desperate; she had been a school friend of Daisy and Eva Singleterry and hoped that her old friends and their mother would help out temporarily. Rather than approach them directly, she came to Ely after dark with a companion, and left baby Eric on their back doorstep with some food, clothing and a spirit lamp, as well as a note explaining herself. Once she was certain the baby had been found, Edith had fled. (It was not explained why she did not go to her own family - although her mother was now widowed and in Wisbech.) It is clear from the newspaper account that Edith certainly expected to reclaim Eric, so the Police Court bound her over for three months and sent the child to the Cambridge workhouse until Edith was in a position to reclaim him. 4th April 1919
The return of the Cambridgeshire Regiment Cadre takes place. All local men who served with the Cambridgeshires are now home. However The cadre of the 11th (Cambridgeshire Battalion) Suffolks does not arrive back until later, after leaving Arras on 11th November 1919. 23rd May 1919.
Early in July 1919 Reverend Frederick James Bywaters returned to serve in St Etheldreda's Church in Queen Adelaide; he had been a chaplain to the Forces for two years and in France since September 1917.
In July 1919 a soldier died in the hospital of Ely Workhouse. This was 32 year old Elijah Parker from Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire who had been in the infirmary since 23rd April. Elijah had been both gassed and suffered from trench feet during his time in service. Having been "on the road" before the War, Elijah had gone back to the travelling life, but his post-war condition was such that the police were called in to rescue him and take him for treatment. He lingered on for three months but was not strong enough to survive.
"A motor scooter has been seen in Ely this week for the first time, and has attracted considerable attention." 11th July 1919
With Ely being such and important railway centre, a memorial service for fallen Great Eastern Railway workers was held at Ely Cathedral. It is a ticket event, except for the spaces in the North Transept. 18th July 1919
A notice is published from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission that if relatives wanted a personal message to be added to their loved one’s grave stone this would be at their own expense. Any messages were to be limited to 65 letters. Evidence from Ely’s casualties’ stones suggests that most local families could not afford this.
May 1919 the Urban District Council accepts an offer from the Cambridgeshire Territorial Force Association of one of the five heavy German guns it has been allocated by the War Office as a War souvenir. It is suggested it is placed by the cannon on Palace Green. Captain Bendall and Colonel Archer are awarded captured German machine guns for their leadership roles in the War. The RAF is asked to collect the guns from Cambridge.
September 1919 the German gun arrives, but a site for it has not yet been agreed. For the time being it is placed on the Barracks Field. The gun carriage measures 16 feet 6 inches by 6 feet 6 inches. At some point the gun is moved into a barn on Major W J C Luddington’s property where it has been for some time when referred to in a committee meeting in April 1920. Major Luddington comments to the Ely Urban Committee that he would be very glad to give it up! A site on either St Mary’s Green or Palace Green was suggested and the task of making the decision was given to the General Purposes Committee. In the event, the gun is placed on Back Hill and was noted in the paper of 17/12/1920 as in place.
August 1919 a notice is published in the Ely standard that wives whose husbands are serving in the Army of the Rhine may go to visit them at their own expense “under certain conditions”. There is no newspaper evidence that this was taken up by any local residents. The YMCA was very active in supporting those who travelled abroad, finding accommodation and taking families to the newly created CWGC cemeteries.
In September 1919 local man Percy Toombs was on board the HMS Verulam which hit a mine in the Baltic Sea. He took five hours to swim the four miles to shore. He lost all his belongings and did not get fresh clothing until he arrived back at Chatham.
There is correspondence in the paper regarding the appalling conditions on troopship Malwa bringing back the Territorials from India (and troops from Mesopotamia via India). Some technically demobilised soldiers were being held in India until regular troops were sent out to relieve them. 12th September 1919 (This would have been of great interest as some local men were amongst the Territorials serving in India.)
Cambs County Council proposes the sale of the “incubus” of the Ely Militia Barracks and asks Ely City Council to concur with the sale. 16th January 1920 (The barracks had been in constant use during the War by groups such as the Volunteer Training Corps and the Comrades of the Great War, and large scale meetings of ex-servicemen were still using the Barracks Square. It was also still a base for the Territorial Army.) 24th July 1922 the newspaper reported that the City Council had agreed to sell the barracks and a condition survey was being undertaken.
By the end of 1920 the cost of living had increased 176% since the outbreak of the War.
- 23/9/1921 Ely Urban Council agrees to the numbering of houses with odd numbers one side of the street and even the other. J F Burrows votes against this as he takes exception to the attitude of the Postal authorities
- 14/10/1921 The first houses to be numbered are in Broad Street – numbers are being stencilled on in white paint. Some houses which already had names made the workmen wash the unsightly white paint off again as unnecessary!
- 23/12/1921 Very few occupiers have yet submitted to Council instructions about numbering.
And a final word from Bishop Chase from his sermon at the cathedral on 1st July 1921, expressing the frustration of the Church at the results of the War: "We have not learned the lessons of the War; we are not more religious than we were in the Summer of 1914; not more Godly; not more Christian. We can always discern signs of selfishness; signs of forgetfulness of God; of neglect of His will and signs of relaxation of morals. Yes, all this is true, we know it to be true.” On this occasion he also read out the letter from the two archbishops calling for a brotherhood of prayer across the country.
