Before the outbreak of the First World War, Newhaven was a key point in travel between Britain and Europe. Newhaven was the departure port for the railway and steamship link from London to Dieppe.

Passengers could ride the train down from London before boarding one of the twice daily steamships that would cross the channel in just under three hours. As a result, it was a key port for tourism and travel.

At the outbreak of war in 1914, the government quickly took control of Newhaven Port and it was closed to the public; all passenger services to France were suspended.

Because of its location on the East Sussex coast, Newhaven was ideally placed to deliver supplies across the sea. However, in the early months of the war, the requirements of the military and the desires of private shipping companies often collided.

During 1914 and the early part of 1915, Britain was operating under a system often referred to as ‘Business as usual.’ Whilst the country may have been at war, the government did not want the conflict to prevent the normal running of the country. They hoped that the war would be swiftly won without disrupting trade and commerce.

Instead of ‘Business as usual,’ the new controls at Newhaven Port provided an example of what would be known as ‘Total War‘ where the government could control any public or private business or property to support the war effort.

Following the decision to take control of Newhaven’s harbour, steamships were changed to transport of supplies across the channel. These supplies included ammunition, clothing, food, and horses. The return journeys from France would often include hospital ships returning wounded men to Britain.

By October 1915, 45 transport vessels were involved in taking supplies across the channel. Around 6,000 tonnes of supplies were being delivered to France by these ships every day and this number would rise as the war continued. In order to maintain the constant levels of shipping, additional workers were sought to load ships at the quayside. Newly employed Chinese Labourers were used at Newhaven Harbour after 1917. By February 1918, 100 women were employed to work the docks. Within a month this number had risen to over 400.

Because of the ammunition supplies passing through Newhaven, the dock was under the control of the military. Newhaven Fort was constantly guarded by soldiers throughout to protect the port and surrounding coastline. The greatest fear regarding Newhaven, however, was the effect an attack on the town might cause.

Alongside the guards at Newhaven Fort, eight boy scouts kept watch from the clifftops from 6am until 10pm every day and also acted as messengers. Patrolling above them were seaplanes and also airships from Polegate. These searched for German U-Boats that might be hiding in the channel and also kept watch for any incoming German planes and bombers.

Commander P.B. Garrett from the Naval Transports Office was keen to emphasise the huge danger of an attack on the port from either the air or by torpedo:

I would like to point out that it appears extremely essential that the ammunition Transports should never, when loaded, be allowed to remain in this harbour, as in the event of an air raid and a bomb being dropped on to any of these vessels the destruction of the whole of the quays and most of the town, would be the inevitable result. In consequence I am using the vessels that can leave at almost any hour of tide and larger than those now used could not be used to advantage.

By the end of the war, Newhaven Port had played a huge role in supplying the army abroad. 866,021 train trucks had delivered supplies to the quayside at Newhaven. These supplies had been delivered to France by 165 ships making a total of 8,778 voyages. Over 6 million tonnes of supplies including 2.6 million tonnes of ammunition were delivered to France during these supply trips.

However, this effort was not without a cost. The names of 99 people who lost their lives whilst delivering supplies to France were inscribed on the Newhaven Transport Memorial following its unveiling in 1920.

Questions to ask your students

1) What was Newhaven Port used for before the war?

2) Why was Newhaven Port important during the war?

3) How many tons of supplies left Newhaven Port during the war?

Images

Click here to download a copy of this resource: First World War – Newhaven Port – teachers

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The creation and name of the modern south coast town of Peacehaven are heavily connected to the events of the First World War.

The town was originally planned as a ‘Garden City by the Sea’ by its founder, the businessman and entrepreneur, Charles Neville. His aim was to create a town on the South Downs by the sea, where members of the public and ex-soldiers would be able to purchase plots of land upon which they could build homes.

Soldiers had, since the very start of the war, been told that the defence of places like the South Downs was an important reason to volunteer for military service and had been promised ‘homes for heroes‘ when the war came to an end. However, these homes were never built. The breaking of that promise convinced people of the benefits of buying their own land. However, the actual process and evolution of Peacehaven was far more complicated than it might at first appear.

First established in 1916, the name of the town itself was changed several times through a series of competitions run by Neville. During each competition, Neville would choose the winning name and whomever had submitted it would receive £100 (a large amount of money at the time) and a free plot of land to build on. Additionally, the runners up would also receive free plots but would have to pay a £50 fee in order to claim them.

There were 12,500 runner up plots available meaning that those ‘runners up’ claiming them promised a significant amount of money for Neville. The nature of this competition led to Neville being sued by the Daily Express newspaper, over suggestions that it was a scam. The Express eventually won the lawsuit but by the time they did, the publicity had already ensured that Neville had achieved his goal.

The first name of the town chosen was New Anzac-on-Sea as a tribute to the soldiers from Australia and New Zealand (Anzac stands for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) who were fighting overseas. Many of the roads in the town were also to be named after particular battles during the war such as Mons or Typres. However, it was soon decided that names so linked to death and suffering were not suitable. The term ‘Anzac‘ was viewed as particularly sensitive after the number of Anzac casualties during the battles at Gallipoli. In response, Neville held yet another competition which was won by Ethel Radford from Leicestershire who suggested the name ‘Peacehaven’.

For many people who would claim the plots of land, building on them proved to be expensive so, for a time, Peacehaven had no proper layout. In the post-war period, town planners and social commentators would come to regard Peacehaven as embodying many of the worst aspects of Britain at the time. In the following years, Peacehaven would eventually grow into a recognisable town.

The town became further noteworthy for being the point on the south coast through which the Greenwich Meridian Line, which British clocks are set to, enters and exits the country.

Peacehaven remains the only town in the United Kingdom to be named after peace.

Questions

1) Who founded the town of New Anzac-on-Sea?

2) Why was the name ‘New Anzac-on-Sea’ changed?

3) What is the town called today?

Images

The Meridian Monument in Peacehaven

Click here to download a copy of this resource: First World War – New Anzac-on-Sea – students

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Cooden Camp was a military training camp established in Bexhill at the start of the war. The early occupants of the camp were housed in tents in the Lower Camp near the parade ground, whilst wooden huts were constructed in the Upper Camp at the end of 1914.

The role of Cooden Camp changed throughout the war. In September 1914, new recruits for the Royal Sussex Regiment stayed in the camp. They were clothed, equipped and trained at Cooden Camp until the summer of 1915.

In September 1915, 700 men from the South African Heavy Artillery, arrived at Cooden. In the following weeks these men were joined by a small group of Australian soldiers as well. By the summer of 1916 the Royal Garrison Artillery controlled the entire site and the camp remained a training post for the next 18 months.

In January 1918, Cooden Camp’s duty changed again. The artillery units were replaced by Canadian Engineers, who turned the camp into a Canadian military hospital for wounded soldiers. Canadian troops were already a familiar sight in Bexhill during the War, as a Canadian Training School and Trench Warfare School were established at the Metropole Hotel on the seafront.

The first 131 patients arrived at Cooden Camp in March 1918 to receive treatment. The hospital itself had room to care for 2000 casualties. The main function of the hospital was to allow injured soldiers to recover before returning them to France.

Sport and recreation were a big part of life at the hospital as it was a way to build spirit and morale. It was believed that if soldiers had confidence in one another on the sports field then they would have confidence in one another on the battlefield.

The Princess Patricia Canadian Red Cross Hospital also had its own Concert Party, known as the ‘Parakeets,’ who entertained the sick and wounded at Canadian hospitals across Sussex. The hospital remained open until February 1919. The V.A.D hospital established as part of the camp in 1914, also operated until January 1919.

Questions to ask your students

1) Which town was Cooden Camp opened near?

2) Soldiers from which different countries stayed at Cooden Camp?

3) What was the main role of the hospital at Cooden Camp?

Images

Click here to download a copy of this resource: First World War – Cooden Camp – students

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West Indian and African soldiers provided much needed manpower in fighting the First World War but also faced extreme prejudice.

When war was declared in 1914, the West Indies offered to send contingents of men to fight alongside Britain. The British West Indies had been part of the British Empire since the 17th century. In total, 16,000 soldiers were recruited in the West Indies along with 4,500 volunteers who were also sent to the war.

Whilst Britain was more than happy to accept these men from the West Indies, they were far more opposed to using black African soldiers on European battlefields. African soldiers were common in the French army during the First World War, with around 450,000 men being deployed in their armies. However, Britain eventually banned the use of black African soldiers in their own armies in Europe.

Additionally, the German army was fiercely opposed to the use of black African soldiers in Europe, going so far as to produce a pamphlet which suggested that colonial soldiers were committing war crimes and atrocities on German soldiers such as the cutting off of ears, hands, or heads as trophies.

Ongoing German propaganda often portrayed black soldiers as uncivilised demons or apes who would destroy all forms of pre-war civilisation. Allied propaganda would attempt to counter these arguments by referring back to Germany’s supposed lack of civilisation for starting the war in the first place, but would also represent their own black soldiers in similar ways or portray Germany in a manner which echoed racial stereotypes.

Men from the West Indies arrived in Sussex prepared to fight side by side with the British army. A camp was created at Seaford to be used to train and prepare the 1st Battalion of the West Indies Regiment for the fighting taking place in Europe and beyond.

However, much like the Indian soldiers’ initial deployment in France or the men of the Chinese Labour Corps, the soldiers arriving from the West Indies did not have an easy trip to Britain or Europe. The initial journey to Britain was hazardous and, when their ships were diverted via Halifax in Canada, hundreds of men were left with severe frostbite. Many were left unfit for service and were sent back to the West Indies with no compensation or benefits.

The winter of 1914/15 was particularly cold and harsh. The West Indian soldiers were confined to poor accommodation and unsuitable clothing for the duration of the winter and, as a result, their health and morale began to suffer. Following this, a bout of pneumonia which had afflicted numerous men and an epidemic of mumps then swept through the camp.

The West Indian Regiment would go on to play a crucial role in the First World War, especially in Palestine and Jordan, where they were deployed against the forces of the Ottoman Empire. During this fighting, General Allenby sent a telegram to the Governor of Jamaica:

I have great pleasure in informing you of the gallant conduct of the machine-gun section of the 1st British West Indies Regiment during two successful raids on the Turkish trenches. All ranks behaved with great gallantry under heavy rifle and shell fire and contributed in no small measure to the success of the operations.

Thousands of men from the West Indies had campaigned to be allowed the right to fight alongside Britain at the start of the war. However, in a cruel twist of fate, by the war’s conclusion, the West Indian soldiers were on the verge of mutiny in the Italian camp of Taranto. Manpower shortages had left the West Indian soldiers facing hard physical and demeaning labour, such as the building and cleaning of toilets for white soldiers. When they discovered that white soldiers in the camp had received pay rises whilst they had not it tipped the regiment over the edge.

The mutiny lasted for around 4 days and, at its conclusion, 60 soldiers were tried and convicted. Most received prison sentences from 3 to 5 years while one soldier was sentenced to 20 years in prison and another was executed by firing squad.

The mutiny may have subsided but the feelings behind it had not. Many West Indian soldiers deciding that they would strike for higher pay when they were returned home. However, the islands of the West Indies had seen violent protests during the final years of the war. The British were so concerned by these that they had moved warships into West Indian ports to stop any possible uprising.

Fearing that returning West Indian soldiers to this situation may cause further problems, the decision was taken to send 4,000 West Indian soldiers to Cuba and Venezuela and leave them there instead. Many would be forced to stay and never see their homelands again.

19 West Indian soldiers died in the Seaford training camp and their bodies are buried in a military cemetery there. In November 1994, for the first time, a memorial service was held, attended by Second World War veterans from the West Indies Ex-Service Men and Women’s Association of London. They were possibly the first to visit their compatriots in 80 years. In 2006, family members from the West Indies visited the graves of West Indian soldiers in Seaford.

In November 2015, the first ever English Heritage approved Blue Plaques in Seaford town were unveiled to commemorate the centenary of the formation of the British West Indies Regiment in 1915. A Blue Plaque was placed in Seaford Cemetery, Alfriston Road, to remember the 19 Caribbean soldiers who are buried there.

The unveiling ceremony was followed by the annual 2 minute silence at 11 o’clock by the West Indian Association of Service Personnel. Guests then moved on to unveil a second plaque at Seaford railway station.

Questions

1) How were black soldiers viewed during the war?

2) What were conditions like for West Indian soldiers in Seaford?

3) Where were 4,000 West Indian soldiers sent after the war?

Images

Click here to download a copy of this resource: First World War – West Indian Soldiers – students

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At the outbreak of the First World War, the Indian Army numbered 240,000 men; by 1918 it had grown to nearly 550,000. Most recruits came from the north of India, especially the Punjab. The Indian army at the time was made up of numerous religions. Battalions of Punjabi Muslims served in Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) and, after the war, the 92^nd Battalion were recognised for their bravery and gallantry. Sikhs made up 20% of the British Indian Army at the outbreak of the war. By its conclusion, around 130,000 Sikh soldiers had served.

Indian soldiers fought in many battles during the war but many of them were unfamiliar with their equipment, having only been given it upon arriving in France. Their lack of warm clothing during cold weather soon saw morale plummet and desertion was not uncommon. In October 1915, the infantry were moved to Egypt whilst the cavalry remained in France.

Nearly 700,000 Indian soldiers served in Mesopotamia fighting against the Ottoman Empire. Indian soldiers also fought the Germans in East Africa and defended the Suez Canal. Three battalions of Gurkhas and one of Sikhs participated in the Gallipoli campaign. The Sikh Battalion was almost wiped out in the Battle of Krithia.

Smaller units of Indian soldiers also served in Singapore and China, whilst many others remained in India to defend the North Western border against incursions from Afghanistan.

During the First Battle of Ypres, Khudadad Khan used his machine gun position to hold the allied line and prevent a final German breakthrough. When the position was finally overrun, the defenders were all killed, except for Khan who suffered many wounds and was left for dead. Despite his injuries he managed to crawl back to his own lines under cover of darkness. He and his men had held the line long enough for further reinforcements to arrive and save the battle. For his courage and bravery Khan was awarded the Victoria Cross.

Many Indian soldiers like Khudadad Khan were wounded during the war and a great number of them were taken to Brighton to be nursed back to health. The Royal Pavilion, Corn Exchange and Dome were all converted into military hospitals and provided 722 beds. The workhouse on Elm Grove was renamed the Kitchener Hospital and also took in patients. Between 1914 and 1916, 12,000 soldiers were treated in Brighton with 4,306 placed in the Pavilion. Only 32 men died in the Royal Pavilion hospital.

As these soldiers were a mix of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs, great care was taken to respect the religion and customs of each. Separate water supplies were provided for Hindus and Muslims in each ward, and nine kitchens catered for the different requirements of the patients. Separate areas were also provided for worship with a marquee being erected in the grounds for Sikhs and an east-facing area of the lawn reserved for Muslim prayer.

However, at times, the patients at the Royal Pavilion were also kept apart from the inhabitants around them. Barbed wire was placed around the Pavilion in order to keep the patients in and the residents of Brighton out.

By the end of 1915, the Indian Army was moved away from the Western Front to Mesopotamia and no further Indian soldiers arrived in Brighton.

Following the conclusion of the war, a permanent memorial was opened at Brighton Pavilion in honour of the Indian soldiers who had been cared for. The ‘India Gate‘ was opened in 1921 by the Maharaja of Patiala. In his speech he paid tribute to ‘Brighton’s abounding hospitality’.

To commemorate the Indian soldiers who had died in the various hospitals in Brighton, a permanent memorial was unveiled in the South Downs. The Chattri was unveiled by the Prince of Wales in 1921. The Royal British Legion held an annual pilgrimage to the memorial every year until 1999. Since 2000 the ceremony has been conducted by the Chattri Memorial Group and takes place every June.

Questions

1) How big was the Indian Army by 1918?

2) What different religions did soldiers in the Indian Army have?

3) Why did Indian soldiers come to Brighton during the war?

Images

Click here to download a copy of this resource: First World War – Indian Soldiers – students

The post Indian Soldiers in East Sussex appeared first on WW1 East Sussex.

1915 was the worst year of the war for Britain and France. The British Army had suffered many casualties in previous battles and the war seemed no closer to ending. At the start of 1916, the British Army needed men so much that they introduced forced recruitment through conscription.

However, the Army did not just need soldiers, they also needed men to work in supply depots and ports both in Europe and Britain.

The French Army first decided to use Chinese men as workers in May 1916. They hired 40,000 Chinese men to serve with their army and hundreds of Chinese students to serve as translators. Shortly the British followed suit by creating a recruitment base in the British colony of Weihaiwei (now the city of Weihai, Shandong Province, China) in October 1916.

China was a neutral country at the time and citizens were forbidden from fighting in the war. Working as labourers however, was permitted and around 95,000 men would join the British during the war.

Life in the Chinese Labour Corps began under terrible conditions with men sailing across the Pacific Ocean and then travelling for 6 days across Canada in sealed trains. By the time they sailed across the Atlantic and then journeyed by train down the length of Britain, many of the men who had set out from China had died.

Every man who joined the Labour Corps was assigned a number that replaced their name for the duration of their service. Whilst translators were on hand to explain orders to the men, British officers referred to each Chinese labourer by the numbered wristband they wore and it was also carved onto the headstones of those men who had died.

Men who had joined the Labour Corps lived under the restrictions of Military Law and were contracted to work for 3 years. As a result, groups of Chinese labourers continued to work on the abandoned battlefields in 1919 and 1920 long after the soldiers had left and returned home.

Duties for men in the Labour Corps included digging trenches, filling sandbags, building huts, repairing roads, loading and unloading vehicles and munitions, and even cooking.

The port of Newhaven was a key supply point on the East Sussex coast. Chinese Labourers became a common sight in the town as they worked on the dockside and handled the train-ferry to Dieppe.

China officially declared war on Germany in 1917 after a U-Boat sunk the French ship Athos at the cost of 543 Chinese lives. Britain and France also promised China that they would ensure that Chinese land held by the Japanese would be returned to them if the war was won.

During the negotiations at the end of the war, this promise was not kept and, as a result, the Chinese refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles which brought about the end of the war and dictated the terms and cost that Germany and its allies would have to pay.

Most Chinese labourers returned home in 1920 with a small number remaining in France.

Official statistics suggest that around 2,000 men of the Chinese Labour Corps lost their lives but modern estimates place the actual number at around 20,000.

Questions

1) Why did Britain need Chinese labourers?

2) What duties did Chinese labourers perform during the war?

3) When did Chinese labourers return home?

Images

Click here to download a copy of this resource: First World War – Chinese Labourers – students

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During the First World War some soldiers received wounds that needed special treatment in order to heal or to recover from. To help them recover, special camps were created around the country.

Summerdown Camp was built near Eastbourne in the South Downs, and opened in 1915 to treat wounded soldiers. At its height Summerdown contained 3,500 wounded men who were known locally as ‘Blueboys’ because of the different uniforms they had to wear. It was important for wounded men from the camp to be easily recognisable when out in the town. Some wounds were not obvious at first glance and being a man who seemed fit and healthy and yet was not in army uniform could result in pressure being placed upon them by civilians to join the army. The handing out of white feathers by women to men suspected of being too cowardly to join the army was humiliating at the time. Wearing a blue uniform let everyone know that the man was already in the army and had been wounded.

The treatment given to men at Summerdown included massage sessions to help speed up recovery. This sessions were performed by the Almeric Paget Massage Corps, who were organised by Pauline Page Whitney, wife of Almeric Paget. To begin with there were 50 women working in the Massage Corps. This number increased during the war and reached 2,000 during 1918. The group would be renamed as the Almeric Paget Military Massage Corps (also known as the A.P.M.M.C) in 1916.

Women in the Corps were easily distinguishable from women in the regular Nursing Service. The wore a simple uniform with the badge of the A.P.M.M.C on their left arm,and senior women wore red bars on the shoulders

Before her marriage Pauline had been born and raised in the United States. With the formation of the A.P.M.M.C and the outbreak of the war, she became active in the organisation and was regularly seen at Summerdown Camp organising the women there. The wounded soldiers liked her and the masseuses so much that she was widely referred to as the ‘Angel of Summerdown’.

Living in her house at Berkley Square in London, Pauline Paget kept her interest in the women of the A.P.M.M.C and the services they provided to wounded soldiers. However following three weeks of illness she died in November of 1916 and, as a result, never lived to see how important the organisation would become.

News of her death was published in the New York Times and a monument to her still exists in the grounds of St Mary’s Church in Hertfordshire.

Questions:

1) Who was the ‘Angel of Summerdown’?

2) What role did women have in WW1 hospitals?

3) Why did wounded soldiers wear blue uniforms?

4) How many women were serving in the A.P.M.M.C. by the end of the war?

Pictures

Click here to download a copy of this resource: First World War – Angel of Summerdown – students

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When men left Brighton and Hove to join the army and navy, many jobs and businesses became short staffed. As a result new job opportunities opened up for women. Gertrude was able to leave her work as a domestic servant and on 10th May 1915, she started work as a ticket collector at Brighton Station.

Her son, Gerald Wheatley, remembers her popularity with the station staff:

‘She knew a lot of the railway personnel, you see, because she was in this big station. When I was a kid in Newhaven, she’d go once a week either to Lewes or Eastbourne or another place nearby by train and take me with her, and she’d always stop and talk to the ticket collectors … they all knew each other.

She loved her job and I think she really didn’t want to give it up, but she had to when the war ended.’

The war left its mark on the family as Gertrude’s brother, William, had been killed in action in 1916:

‘He was the only lad in a family of four sisters and he was killed on the Somme in July [1916]. I think the whole family was devastated. My grandmother would never talk about it and nor would any of the girls. I used to ask Mum about my uncle and she’d say, “He was a lovely chap.” And they were all absolutely shattered.

So from the age of five my poppies have gone on his photograph and Remembrance Day really meant something, that’s how it brought it home really.’

During the war, Gertrude kept an autograph book. Through the entries in this book, we learn something of her life during the years of the First World War.

When war was declared on 4th August 1914, the entries in the autograph book show a change of mood. Some verses display the patriotism of the time, others make fun of the German Kaiser, while many still refer to the everyday lives and loves of young people.

As Gertrude’s soldier friends and relations left for war, some wrote verses for her. There is one entry by Gertrude’s future husband, Joseph Wheatley:

I want you just to cheer me
when I’m in the fighting line
That’s why I write these few lines
for the sake of “Auld Lang Syne”

Xmas 1914 J. Wheatley 47903 R.G.A.

As the railwaymen returned home after the war, the women, who had kept the railway industry going during the war years, were also expected to return to their pre-war occupations and families. Gertrude’s employment at Brighton Station came to an end on 5th December 1919, and the next year she married Joseph Wheatley. Together they ran the Ark Inn pub in Newhaven.

Questions

1) What was Gertrude’s job before the war?

2) Why did women like Gertrude need to work on the railways?

3) Why did Gertrude leave her job as a ticket collector?

Pictures

Click here to download a copy of this resource: First World War – Gertrude Coggins – Ticket Collector – students

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During the First World War, Britain faced the risk of starvation. Huge numbers of men had joined the army and, as a result, there were not enough men to work as farmers. Meanwhile German U-Boats sank ships in the Atlantic in a bid to prevent food from reaching Britain. To keep Britain’s farmland productive, the Women’s Land Army was created.

In 1917 the British harvest failed. With enough food for only a few more weeks the country faced, disaster, and likely defeat. In a bid to rescue the situation, it was decided to create the Women’s Land Army (WLA); a dedicated group for women to take over important jobs and tasks on farms.

Women had already been working the fields in Sussex since 1916. Lady Cowdray and the Countess of Chichester had worked to form Women’s Agricultural Committees in the county. These were designed to combat prejudices at the time in regard to women workers.

The Women’s Land Army participated in most forms of farming for the remainder of the war. Women milked cows, ploughed fields and harvested crops. In exchange for their services, they were generally paid 25 shillings a week minus 17 shillings for board.

Additionally, the Women’s Forestry Corps worked alongside the WLA in East Sussex. The Forestry Corps combined elements of military formation, uniform and discipline with the same objectives of the WLA. In 1917 and 1918, women felled trees in Heathfield and were also sent to work in the forests of Tunbridge Wells.

The Women’s Land Army was formally disbanded in 1919. Their efforts had ensured that the countrydid not starve during the last years of the war. However, the returning numbers of men from the battlefields meant that most women who had worked in organisations such as the WLA lost their jobs to make way for the men.

There was praise for their efforts though. In 1919, members of the Women’s Land Army from East Sussex were participants in a medal presentation and ‘stand down’ march through the town of Lewes.

Questions 

1) Why was Britain struggling for food during the war?

2) Why were women needed to work the fields?

3) What happened to women working on farms when the war ended?

Images

Click here to download a copy of this resource: First World War – Women’s Land Army – students

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On 30 January 1917, Mr Haylock the headmaster at Willingdon School wrote an entry in his school’s: ‘Sent off today 3 bushels of horse chestnuts gathered by children for the Minister of Munitions.’

Over the previous weeks there were notes in the Log that the children had been out in the parish during the school day collecting conkers as part of the war effort. Many of the schoolboys also belonged to the 1st Ratton Scout Troop founded by Lord Willingdon and the scouts were also seen around the parish busily searching in the grass under the horse chestnut trees and filling boxes and baskets with conkers. Once collected they brought them back to the schoolroom to removed the green shells, leaving just the nuts. These were bagged up in sacks, put on a hand cart and wheeled off to Hampden Park Station ready for collection and transportation by train to London and from there to secret locations.

But why were children gathering conkers and why was there so much secrecy around it?

During the First World War, Britain was faced with shortages to various chemicals and components that were useful in making ammunition. In order to keep the army supplied and armed inventive solutions to these shortages were sought.

Research showed that conkers contained a key chemical called acetone which could be used o make explosives. So, when the Ministry of Munitions, who were in charge of all ammunition production, ordered the collection of conkers, across the country, to help make ammunition. School headmasters were urgently directed to send out pupils during the school day to collect as many conkers as they could find. Vast quantities of conkers were collected, weighed, bagged and sent off to collection centres. Perhaps more were collected than anticipated as there were reports of sacks of conkers left rotting on station platforms because there was not enough trains to transport them all.

The schools were paid 7 shillings and 6 pence for each hundredweight of conkers collected but a veil of secrecy surrounded the reason why the children were actually collecting them. A question was even asked in Parliament but the answer given simply stated that they were required for “certain purposes”. It was said this was for fear that the Germans would discover this ingenious method of acetone production. No one would have thought that the humble conker could play a part in winning the war. Production continued until July 1918 but by the autumn of that year conkers had returned to their normal role, firmly threaded on the end of a string ready for small schoolboys to play their annual matches.

Questions

1) Why chemical was found in conkers?

2) Who initially ordered the collection conkers?

3) Where did children go looking for conkers?

Pictures

Click here to download a copy of this resource: First World War – Children gathering conkers – students

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