1. 14 Wednesday, July 30, 2014 RGG-EO1-S2
ON August 4, 1914,
Great Britain declared
war on Germany.
Prime Minister Herbert
Asquith had given
Germany an ultimatum
to withdraw from
Belgium, which they
had invaded, or face
the consequences.
In this seven-page
special feature, we
look at how the First
World War affected our
town and villages as a
nation remembers,
100 years on...
ON THE MARCH: Troops
parading through town
Photograph courtesy of East Grinstead Museum
Enthusiastic cheers for
war declaration atcircusDave Comeau
dave.comeau@egcourier.co.uk
AS the residents of East Grinstead
packed in to watch a circus per-
formance on August 4, 1914, little
did the men who were present
realise they were about to be
thrown into the lion’s den.
The announcement that Bri-
tain had declared war on Ger-
many was made during the show.
But far from appearing anxious at
the prospect, the declaration was
met with cheers and men sub-
sequently flocked to enlist, know-
ing little of what truly awaited
them.
Confident
The widespread suggestion the
war would be over by Christmas
almost certainly prompted many
of the men of East Grinstead to
sign up, confident they would
quickly see it out.
A total of 204 men from the town
would lose their lives in the con-
flict on top of those from the sur-
rounding villages.
On August 5, the day after the
announcement was made, an
emergency meeting of East
Grinstead Urban District Council
was held.
An emergency relief fund was
set up, as in many towns, to help
the families of East Grinstead sol-
diers fighting in France.
Soldiers were routinely billeted
in camps, public buildings and
private houses in and around East
Grinstead during the war. The
town’s residents dutifully gave up
space in their homes to care for
the men passing through and also
to Belgian refugees, who fled their
country when it fell to the invad-
ing German army.
East Grinstead Observer wrote
how generous the town’s resid-
ents had been in welcoming the
6,000 troops who were stationed in
East Grinstead for a few days on
their way to war in September
1914.
The report read: “The way in
which people have received the
men into their homes – in some
cases giving up their own beds to
them – has been greatly appre-
ciated by the men, and one non-
commissioned officer called at
our office and said he had been
deputed to beg us publicly to say
how much the men valued the
many kindnesses that had been
shown.”
Memories
The report added that the sol-
diers would carry with them
many fond memories of their time
in East Grinstead. An impromptu
concert was held when they first
arrived, performed by the East
Grinstead Military and Town
Band in the High Street.
The men of B Company 6th
Brigade of the City of London
Rifles, who were stationed at
Sunnyside, later organised a con-
cert for the residents to thank
them for everything they had
done.
But the presence of so many
men in the town caused concern
for some, who were worried that
young local girls would be cor-
rupted. Regular “women’s
patrols” were conducted to keep a
watch on the men and patrol local
parks and the cinema, which left
its lights on during screenings to
discourage frivolous behaviour.
Opinion was divided over the
patrols, with some believing them
to be appropriate while others
saw them as unnecessary. One
resident wrote to the East
Grinstead Observer to say: “It is
about time something is done
about these ancient spinsters fol-
lowing soldiers about with their
flashlights.”
The war was sobering for the
town in more ways than one. East
Grinstead Urban District Council
ruled that all pubs and clubs
should be closed at 9pm every
night for the duration of the war.
Councillor J Rice, speaking at the
meeting at which it was agreed,
said: “If there has ever been a time
in the history of this nation when
we should be sober, it is now.”
Resources became scarce and
local businesses were turned into
munitions factories, including
the Rice Bros, who were asked to
produce shells for the Army.
When the war ended, after four
long years of hardship and tragic
loss of life, many families faced
the uncertainty of not knowing if
their loved ones had survived.
In 1922 the war memorial was
unveiled in the High Street to pay
tribute to the men who died in the
Great War.
I With thanks to East
Grinstead Museum and East
Grinstead Library for their
support in producing this fea-
ture. An exhibition of East
Grinstead in the First World
War is currently on display at
East Grinstead Museum.
Discover more
I WEST Sussex Library
Service has also developed a
website charting the lives of
the men and women who lived
through and fought in the First
World War
I The ‘Great War West Sussex
– 1914-1918’ website gives
access to the war diaries of
the Royal Sussex Regiment
and case studies of local
servicemen and women from
the county
I Find out more at
www.westsussexpast.org.uk
I To accompany the website a
book entitled Great War
Britain: West Sussex is being
published by History Press on
August 4. It will be on sale at
East Grinstead Library in
August
Town’s animals were also victims of an escalating conflict
IT wasn’t only the district’s brave
men and women facing terrible
conditions and injury on the
front line; the town’s animals
were also at risk, particularly
horses which were routinely
seized and sent into action.
Advice issued to local branches
of the RSCPA shortly after the
outbreak of the war was that
oatmeal and water should be
prepared for any horses passing
through East Grinstead and the
surrounding areas with troops.
A pamphlet on care and first aid
for horses was also issued to
soldiers departing for the front
line and anyone involved in the
care of animals.
Some troops were given
“humane killing instruments” in
case horses were too badly
injured to be kept alive, or even
if they needed to be used for
food.
A notice in the East Grinstead
Observer in 1914 read: “The
hon. Secretaries of branches are
requested in the circular to write
to the commandant of any
camps in their neighbourhood
offering a free gift of such a
killer, and, when possible,
intimating that a gratis
demonstration can be arranged
for.”
The RSPCA also issued advice,
through the notice, to the local
branch to say that soldiers’ pets
left behind when they went to
war should be destroyed
humanely “to prevent suffering”.
LOOKING BACK: London Road, East Grinstead at the start of the
First World War Photograph courtesy of East Grinstead Museum
DO YOUR DUTY: A recruitment
advert in the East Grinstead
Observer in September 1914
PAYING RESPECT: The war memorial is unveiled in the High Street in
1922. Photograph courtesy of East Grinstead Museum