On 8 June 1913, 10,000 pigeons were released into the sky above the newly built and dedicated Deutsches Stadion in Berlin. 60,000 people were in attendance to witness the event designed to signal the run up to Berlin hosting the Summer Olympic Games in 1916. The Deutsches Stadion was to be the centrepiece of the games. Also included in the preparations, was a plan for a week of winter sports, such as ice hockey and figure skating. Such events were to be included a full eight years before the first Winter Olympics in 1924. However, none of these plans came to fruition.

The outbreak of war in Europe in 1914 did not actually stop the planning for the Olympics in 1916. The assumption that hostilities would be short-lived and completed by the time the games were underway meant that the organisers in Berlin continued with their plans. When it became clear that the fighting was likely to continue beyond 1914, the planned Summer Olympics became increasingly contentious.

Germany became increasingly resistant to the idea of the games being removed from Berlin and given to a neutral country. Many cities in the United States of America put themselves forward as potential hosts for the Olympics. However, Germany claimed such a plan would represent an attempt to humiliate their country and penalise them for participation in, what they believed to be, a defensive war.

With the deadlock on the Western and Eastern Fronts unable to be broken and Germany similarly resistant to having the games moved, they were instead cancelled. The sporting event designed to showcase world athleticism and peace could not overcome the spread of the war. The 1916 Summer Olympics was the first, but not the last, of the games to be cancelled because of World War in the 20th Century.

The Olympics were next held in 1920 in the Belgian city of Antwerp but the spectre of the war continued to hover over the event. Antwerp itself had been badly damaged during the fighting of 1914 and had been held by the Germans until the Armistice in 1918.

The outcome of the First World War also caused issues regarding which nations were to participate. Following the defeat of Germany, Austro-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire, numerous new states and nations had come into existence as these empires began to collapse. Additionally, it was decided that none of Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria or the Ottoman Empire would be allowed to participate in further punishment for their wartime activities.

Germany itself was not allowed re-entry to Olympic competition until 1925.

The Deutsches Stadion that had been constructed to host the 1916 Olympics never fulfilled its primary purpose. It served as a football stadium for the German championship for several years and was then closed in 1934.

It was replaced by the new Olympiastadion on the outskirts of Berlin, designed to host the 1936 Olympic Summer Games. These games were the first time Germany hosted the Olympics after the failed attempt in 1916. This tournament has since become infamous for the way Germany’s Nazi regime used the games to bolster their legitimacy on the world stage and preach their ideals of racial supremacy.

The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 meant that the Berlin games of 1936 would be the last to take place until London in 1948. The planned Tokyo games in 1940, and London games in 1944 were cancelled as war once again raged around the world.

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Before WW1, the Kaiser was a jet-setting celebrity. During WW1, he was a household bogeyman, always in the papers and satirised in cartoon and song. By the end of the War the notoriety of the last German Emperor had faded. The man who could claim to be related to all the major Royal families in Europe slipped from the public stage to an enforced, obscure, private retirement on a modest country estate in the Netherlands called Huis Doorn. Following his abdication from the throne in November 1918, this became his home. It was for him a ‘gilded cage’ that he could not leave without special permission until his death in 1941.

His body still lies in a coffin draped with the imperial German flags inside a specially built mausoleum on the estate. No one except close relatives, or people granted special permission, is allowed to enter, but by peering through the stained glass windows and shading out the sun with one’s hands it is possible to see a little of what lies inside.

Sussex Yeomanry Mounted Skill-at-Arms Group was fortunate to receive (via the group Crown & Empire) an invitation to take part in the fourth Living History weekend event at Museum Huis Doorn. We packed our horses, equipment and ourselves into two horse boxes and made the long journey via Dover, Calais and the dreaded ring road round Antwerp to the Netherlands. Our arena was beside the castle and in front of the Kaiser’s mausoleum. The horse boxes were parked nearby. It was a strange feeling to be cleaning and polishing equipment and riding less than 100 yards from the remains of a man who had at one time been so influential. It brought to mind the poem by Shelley – Ozymandias.

For those interested in European history, Huis Doorn is a treasure trove of artefacts and information. The house/castle is set in a beautiful small estate and is full of royal household possessions. The Kaiser was given permission to take five train loads (a total of 59 carriages) of various items, including portraits, furniture, uniforms, swords, porcelain, silver, everyday utensils and much, much, more, from three of his palaces in Germany. A great deal of the items that were transported are still in storage because Huis Doorn was not big enough to house them all. If the Kaiser were to return to his home today, he would find that very little has changed since he left, even down to his bedroom slippers by his bed!

The Netherlands were neutral in WW1. Because of this and the Kaiser’s royal Dutch relations he felt able to claim and receive asylum. He would not have been welcome in Germany and the British wanted to try him as a war criminal. On the strict understanding that the Kaiser abdicate and take no part in politics, the Netherlands agreed to grant him asylum.

At the end of WW2 the Dutch government confiscated German property in the Netherlands. Huis Doorn and its contents became the property of the Dutch government. Today Huis Doorn is run as a museum. There is a small team of full-time employees and a large number of volunteers. The knowledge, enthusiasm and hospitality of all members of staff were outstanding. Everyone took a great deal of trouble – a special display of the Kaiser’s uniforms and swords were put together for the re-enactors to see. We were even taken to see the servants’ quarters up in the eaves of the house – something hitherto not seen by members of the public.

Museum Huis Doorn is a gem for the historian and art (especially porcelain) enthusiast. From time-to-time one finds a pub, restaurant or wine that nobody knows about, but it is excellent. Huis Doorn is one of these places. If ever you are in the Netherlands, south of Amsterdam, the museum at Doorn is definitely a place to visit. Give yourself plenty of time to stroll, browse and contemplate – you will need it! When you have finished, go to the café – the coffee and cognac are excellent!

This story was submitted by John Dudeney

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In 1916 Amelia Joel Mihlenstedt found herself under arrest by the British Government, accused of being a spy. This story was researched and submitted by Clare Woolger, a descendant of Amelia Mihlenstedt, who lives in East Sussex.

The Home Office form, pictured below, relates to Amelia Joel born around 1847.  Neither myself nor others who have researched the Milhenstedt family tree can find any record of her birth and this is what caused the issues. Her father (Godfrey Joel) was a traveller and this may be where the lack of registration comes from.

During WW1 Amelia was living in Leytonstone, East London, and by the time of her contact with the Home Office, was a widow. She had married Cord Mihlenstedt who was born in Hanover, Germany, and had settled in West Ham some time before the 1871 census. The limited Home Office paperwork that is accessible suggests that because she had no proof of her birth and could not produce much in the way of proof of having grown up in the UK she was suspected of being a German and, therefore, an “enemy alien”.

As a result of this Amelia appears to have been placed under house arrest for the duration of the war.

At the outbreak of the First World War, the British Government required all non-British nationals over the age of 16 living in the country to sign the Alien Register. This document allowed the British to hold the details of anyone they suspected of being a German spy or a threat to national security during the war.

As a result, more than 32,000 ‘alien’ men were kept in internment camps for the duration of the conflict with 28,744 being deported at the conclusion of the war. The majority of these were Germans.

If the British Government believed that Amelia had either avoided signing the register or lied about her details within it they may well have sentenced her to immediate imprisonment. It is possible that her advanced age saved her from relocation to one of the internment camps in favour of being detained at home.

Mihlenstedt Family Tree

With a surname like Mihlenstedt it is not surprising that my mother (Sheila) questioned her father Leonard John about where the name came from.  He apparently was rather dismissive of the possibility of it being German.  He recounted a story that one of his school masters had questioned the origins of his surname and he returned home to ask his mother and father (Christopher and Margaret – see family tree on the right) who said they didn’t know but they thought it to be Dutch or possibly Hungarian.

This appears to be a very strange answer considering Christopher must have known that his father was German and also that his mother was under house arrest during the war. This may even have actually been at the same time that Leonard had come home from school having been asked what nationality he was.

Although a local man named John William Green attempted to vouch for the character of Amelia, this was apparently not enough to halt the investigation into her.

In 1915 German zeppelin airships repeatedly bombed the town of Leytonstone and killed three men and one woman and left others severely injured. This event may have stoked anti-German sentiment within the town and driven the hunt for spies.

It’s a very sad thing to see the ‘X’ as a signature at the bottom of the Home Office statement and the thought that this, probably not very bright woman, may have had little idea as to what was going on and the initial knock at the door must have been terrifying.

On the other hand, she may have been a spy!

This story was submitted by Claire Woolger, Secretary for the Crowborough & District Chamber Of Commerce

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At the outbreak of war in 1914, men’s football teams were often used as recruitment adverts and examples to fans. In December 1914, the 17th Battalion (which became known as the ‘Footballers Battalion’) of the London-Middlesex Regiment was created purely to provide a home for amateur and professional footballers who wished to fight for their country. Players from teams such as Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton and Hove Albion soon joined the ranks of this unit.

The FA Cup Final of 1915 was dubbed the ‘Khaki Cup Final‘ but also marked the last point when organised male football was played, as the sport and competition was effectively suspended shortly afterwards for the duration of the war.

However, this suspension coincided with the emergence of a female workforce for munitions factories and other industrial sectors in order to fill the vacuum left by men who had gone to war. Women had been playing football before the war but the sport had never gained much traction in regards to public acceptance or interest. The relationships and camaraderie formed between women whilst working in the factories would often spill over into friendly and informal football matches. From these roots, the sport became increasingly structured.

Members of the public were missing the enjoyment provided by regular men’s football and this dovetailed with the clear enjoyment that women were taking from the opportunity to form teams within their factories.

By 1917, the Munitionettes Cup had been established and was won by Blyth Spartans. Bella Reay scored a hattrick in the final during a 5-0 victory taking her to over 130 goals for the season. The popularity of the sport did not immediately dim after the conclusion of the war in 1918. Arguably the biggest and most famous women’s team of the period was Dick, Kerr’s Ladies from Preston. Following their foundation in 1917, their first match was attended by 10,000 people. On Boxing Day 1920, 54,000 people were inside Goodison Park, the ground of Everton, to watch them play. Thousands more were locked out of the ground.

At this stage the popularity of women’s football could well have seen it rise to the level and exposure of men’s football in today’s society. However, it was not meant to be.

The return of soldiers from the army was to have drastic consequences on female employment and their opportunity to continue to play football. Many women would lose their jobs in factories and other industries in order to make way for returning men. As part of a wider movement to return these women back to household roles, the view of women’s football began to change. No longer was it seen as beneficial for national morale or as helpful for women’s health. Instead it became viewed as an unhelpful and unsuitable way for women to spend their time and potentially detrimental to their health. This was then compounded by the Football Association’s decision to appeal to all football ground owners to support a ban prohibiting women playing matches at their premises.

Some teams continued to play small games in front of reduced crowds but most women’s teams disbanded or drifted away.

This ban was not lifted again until 1971.

To find out more about women’s football in the First World War see the following sources:

BBC News – Why was women’s football banned in 1921?

Football History Boys: The Rise of Women’s Football 1914-1918

BBC – How did Britain think football could help win WW1?

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The transfusion of blood from one individual to another was a known medical procedure since the 17th century, with many of the earliest tests involving the transfer of animal blood into a human. However, the transfusion of large amounts of human blood was viewed by many medical practitioners as a dangerously risky procedure with few benefits.

Medical advances at the beginning of the 20th century began to lay the groundwork for blood transfusions to become standardised. The different blood types were identified in 1900 by Karl Landsteiner, and Ludvig Hekoten built upon this discovery by showing how it was important to match those blood groups during medical treatment.

The biggest step forward in the field, however, came in 1914 with the discovery that sodium citrate was effective as an anticoagulant to stop blood from clotting. Jay Mclean discovered heparin, a much better anticoagulant, in 1916. Heparin is still used for this purpose today.

Meanwhile, the fighting during the First World War was taking a terrible toll on the wounded and many men were dying when they might have been saved with the right medical procedures or treatment. Captain Oswald Hope Robinson, a US Army Medical Officer, brought these developments together to begin the practice of widescale blood transfusions. He repeatedly showed the huge medical benefits of using stored blood of different types and then using them on matching patients. He also drastically changed the model of blood donating and transfusion at the time.

Previously, blood was taken freshly from a donor and transferred almost immediately to the patient. Robinson showed that in order to save both lives and time it was far better to have stored blood ready for immediate use. Whilst this approach was only largely seen in the military until the 1930s these ‘blood banks’ eventually spread into civilian life as well and are now a staple in medical facilities around the world.

The work of Captain Robinson, and those who came before him, in treating patients during the First World War are responsible for the lives of millions who rely upon blood donation and transfusions every day.

Image courtesy of the Wellcome Image Library

Sources

Medical Contributions of The Great War: Blood Transfusion

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King George V in 1923

At the outbreak of the First World War the monarchies of Britain, Germany and Russia were all held by the descendants of Queen Victoria. George V ruled Britain as King of the House Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. George was born in 1865 and following the completion of his education he entered the Royal Navy. During his naval service he widely travelled the British Empire both as an Officer but also as a representative of the British Monarchy. However, the death of his older brother Albert Victor from pneumonia in 1892 elevated George to second in line to the throne and effectively ended his naval career as he returned to Britain to assume his formal duties.

The death of King Edward VII in 1910 ushered in the reign of King George V following his coronation in 1911.

The First World War

At the outbreak of the First World War the Royal Family was led by George himself and his wife Queen Mary (she had originally been named Victoria Mary but had dropped the first name out of respect for George’s grandmother). The pair also had six children; Edward (who would later become Edward VIII before his abdication), Albert (who would then become George VI), Mary, Henry, George and the youngest John.

King George V talking to the British Consul at Dunkerque, 12 July 1917. © IWM (Q 7790)

King George V and Queen Mary were both active in supporting soldiers during the war years and visited the Western Front numerous times and also paid repeated visits to hospitals of wounded soldiers. During one visit to France George suffered a broken pelvis when his horse rolled over on top of him.

Edward, the heir to the throne, was keen on serving in the military immediately when war was declared. However, his hopes of fighting on the Western Front were dashed when Lord Kitchener, the Secretary of War, refused to allow the British heir to place himself in such danger. Despite this Edward would pay many visits to the front line trenches and witness the fighting at first hand. Albert served in the navy during the war and was mentioned in dispatches for his work as a turret officer during the Battle of Jutland. However, ill health would shortly rule him out of military service.

Princess Mary became heavily involved with supporting soldiers in action through the creation of the Princess Mary Christmas Tins and those who were wounded and then treated in military hospitals back in Britain.

Changing the name

“A good riddance”
A 1917 Punch cartoon depicts King George sweeping away his German titles

As the war continued it became increasingly clear that the Germanic links of the Royal name Saxe-Coburg and Gotha were proving unpopular. Elsewhere in Europe the revolution to overthrow George’s cousin Nicholas in Russia caused wider concern about the future of European monarchies.It was for this reason that George himself had blocked any attempts to offer an escape for Nicholas and his family in Britain. George also took the step of suspending or revoking the British peerages and titles of his relatives who were fighting on the German side.

In order to ensure that the Royal Family continued to be viewed as British a Royal Proclamation was issued on 17 July 1917 announcing a new Royal name:

Now, therefore, We, out of Our Royal Will and Authority, do hereby declare and announce that as from the date of this Our Royal Proclamation Our House and Family shall be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, and that all the descendants in the male line of Our said Grandmother Queen Victoria who are subjects of these Realms, other than female descendants who may marry or may have married, shall bear the said Name of Windsor….

By anglicising the Royal household and other notable estates and titles, George V permanently changed the appearance of the monarchy in a move that endures to this day.

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Stoolball has always been a sport heavily connected with Sussex and dates back to the Middle Ages where players would use their hand to defend a wooden stool from being hit by the ball. In its modern format, it resembles a mix of cricket and baseball with a wicket comprising a square piece of wood elevated at around head height and teams aiming to score runs with the bat whilst preventing the opposition from catching or bowling them out.

However, during the First World War the game was reinvigorated as an opportunity to continue the rehabilitation of wounded soldiers.

Major William Wilson Grantham is, in many ways, the modern favour of stoolball. He was serving on a military tribunal in Britain with the 6th Royal Sussex Regiment when his eldest son received a serious injury on the Western Front. There were a variety of methods used for the treatment and recuperation of wounded soldiers during the war, such as military massage. The possibility for also participating in sporting activity and contest was highly appealing to the army but they were wary of games such as football, rugby and even cricket and tennis being to strenuous and physical for these men and, as a result, likely to exacerbate their injuries.

In response to this need, Major Grantham pioneered an inaugural stoolball match between wounded soldiers and elderly lawyers (including himself). The soldiers ran out victorious. Following the success of the match, Major Grantham began organising regular games in Sussex for injured soldiers.

Such was the benefit of the sport it was played by both wounded soldiers and children at the St Nicholas Home for Raid Shock Children at Chailey Heritage.

Sources

Stoolball England

Brighton Museum

The Keep

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The company originated in 1867 when Henry Wills began publishing assorted street directories and travel guidebooks in Loughborough, Leicestershire. The arrival of his publishing partner William Hepworth in 1904 gave the company a new name, Wills & Hepworth, and a new direction.

The pair began publishing illustrated books for children in August 1914 under their new imprint ‘Ladybird’. These books were originally designed as an activity to keep their presses running in between larger contracts. The first stories to appear in this new line were Hans Andersen’s Fairy Tales by E. Talbot, and Tiny Tots Travels by M. Burridge.

The format and logo for Ladybird Books has changed dramatically since those opening publications. The original logo was of a flying ladybird before, in the 1950s it was adapted to the more common closed-winged ladybird. The pocket sized hardback format first emerged in the 1940s and has remained a key feature since then.

Since its origination the Ladybird Books collection has branched out into thousands of different stories and collections including fairy tales, nature, and history. Many of these editions are highly prized by collectors and fans. All of it tracing its roots back to a small publishers in Loughborough at the very start of the First World War.

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During 1915 it became clear that the German defenses on the Western Front was going to prevent the possibility of any large scale British or French breakthrough. In an attempt to break the deadlock the British military began to investigate new and alternative weapons.

Little WIllie Prototype Tank

At this point it was the Royal Navy who found themselves at the forefront of the development of armoured land weaponry. The Navy had been the best resourced arm of the British military before the war but had rapidly found themselves on the sidelines as the conflict largely stayed land-based in Europe. The Admiralty Armoured Car Division had already seen some success with the deployment of cars protected by light armour plating and equipped with machine guns. In order to expand upon this basic model they began to investigate the possibility of creating an armoured weapon on caterpillar tracks.

At exactly the same time Ernest Swinton, a British officer and War Correspondent, was also grappling with the stalemate in Europe and began to consider the possibility of a large vehicle on caterpillar tracks that could be used to destroy machine gun nests. For some time these two groups were entirely unaware of the existence (or thoughts) of the other and it was only when Sir John French insisted on progressing with armoured vehicle exploration that Swinton and the Navy were brought together to form the Landships Committee.

Two main prototypes were constructed during this process and were known as ‘Little Willie’, and ‘Big Willie’ respectively after a popular nickname for the Kaiser and his son. After a series of trials it was ‘Big Willie’ also known as ‘Mother’ that proved to be the most successful design and the British military ordered 100 machines to be constructed.

In order to maintain secrecy around the project and prevent the Germans from learning what they were creating, the British military authorities crafted a careful cover story. Factory workers building the new machines were informed that they were part of a project to construct mobile water tanks for the Russians, who were a British ally at the time. Because of the poor state of Russian roads these tanks would need caterpillar tracks in order to master the terrain.

Tanks were designed in two formats ‘Male’ and ‘Female’ depending upon the size and nature of the armament they carried. They first saw use in combat at Flers-Courcelette, part of the ongoing Somme Campaign in 1916.

During their use in the First World War, tanks had mixed success. They were indeed powerful and terrifying weapons when used against the Germans but, as a new weapon, the correct time and place to use them was still to be ascertained. They were also highly unreliable mechanically and prone to breaking down. The interior of each tanks was also a hot, noisy, and often fume filled environment for the crew.

Tanks saw perhaps their greatest success at the Battle of Cambrai in 1917 when they were used en masse against German lines. To ensure that the German defenders did not hear the approaching machines British and French planes repeatedly flew low over enemy trenches to drown out the noise.

It would not be until the Second World War that tanks would really begin to dramatically influence battles.

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The eclipse was primarily visible in Eastern Europe and came only a few days after the Russian army had invaded East Prussia.

The outbreak of war in Europe prevented many astronomers from journeying to locations where they could observe the phenomenon. However the German scientist Adolf Miethe led an expedition to Norway in order to get the best view of the eclipse. Three of his expedition team were forced to return to Germany in order to commence their military service.

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