Morpeth in the Great War

By Craig Armstrong

Morpeth played a key role in Northumberland's war effort. As a market town and the seat of government of the county authority, the town was significant in the coordination of Northumberlands war effort. With a wide rural hinterland, it played a huge part in the production and dispersal of vital food. The town also occupied a position on the fringes of the Northumberland coal district, and many of the men and businesses of Morpeth were engaged in the equally vital work of mining. The town shared a proud tradition of military service with the wider region, reflected in the huge numbers of Morpeth men and women who came forward for service in the military or in roles such as nursing. It was a recruitment centre, with its own unit of the 1/7th (Territorial) battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers.For many of those left behind in Morpeth the war was a time of fear and hardship. This book includes accounts of the struggles that many families faced in coping with wartime policies, severe shortages, rising wartime prices, longer working hours and endless worry, sometimes in the face of accusations of drunkenness or idleness from the authorities and unfair criticism of the rural districts recruiting record. Despite the hardships, Morpethians continued to provide incredible charitable support right up until the end of the war, in addition to their work efforts. These momentous efforts are explained throughout this book, which is a poignant testimony to the bravery, self-sacrifice and determination of the people of Morpeth during the Great War.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Jul 31, 2016
• ISBN: 9781473866287

Craig Armstrong

Born and bred in Northumberland, Dr Craig Armstrong is an experienced historian with a special interest in the history of the North East of England and the Anglo-Scottish Borders. He has expertise in 19th and 20th century history with a particular focus on social and military history.Dr Armstrong currently splits his time between teaching at Newcastle University and working as a freelance researcher and writer on the history of North East England and Scotland.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

1914 – Morpeth Background

Morpeth was a market town of considerable importance in Northumberland (and indeed debate still rages over whether the capital of Northumberland is Morpeth or Alnwick). It was a parliamentary and municipal borough and head of a petty sessional division and county court district. The town lies fifteen miles from Newcastle upon Tyne and is located in a scenic valley on a loop of the River Wansbeck. It was the centre of a considerable agricultural district, and during the summer was a popular tourist destination for residents of Newcastle, Alnwick and the surrounding areas. In 1911 the ecclesiastical parish had a population of 9,398 while the parliamentary borough catered for a population of 63,053 with a total of 10,890 electors registered to vote in 1914.

The importance of agriculture to the town can be seen by the fact that the lower floor of the Town Hall was given over to a butter, egg and poultry market with a substantial corn exchange behind that. The weekly market was held on a Wednesday and had previously been one of the largest cattle markets in England. In 1914 the market was still popular and busy, with healthy supplies of corn, meat, vegetables, butter, eggs and poultry being offered for sale. There were also regular livestock sales: two annual fairs were held on the first Wednesdays in May and November, and large cattle and horse fairs were held on 2 March and 25 October.

With its large agricultural hinterland and the dependency of many businesses on the local market the war caused some initial concern in Morpeth over the harvest and the future of agriculture due to the large numbers of men who were joining up. However, it seems that some authorities in the North East rather panicked without cause as Armstrong College and the Newcastle Farmers’ Club organised a registry of men, women, horses and equipment that were available to help with the harvest only to be told by representatives in Northumberland (and other rural counties) that there was no shortage of labour and no significant problems were anticipated.¹

The town, as befitted an important market town, had numerous essential services and industries. These included five banks under the running of Messrs Barclays & Co Ltd, Lloyds Bank Ltd, the North Eastern Banking Co Ltd, the London Joint Stock Bank Ltd, and a small savings bank. Other important industries included brewing, brick making, tile making, iron founding, saw mills, corn mills, and a mineral water factory while the surrounding area had substantial collieries and stone quarries along with a woollen factory.

The town also had an alms house (Cottingwood Lane), police station, dispensary (Union Place), the Victoria Cottage Hospital (Dogger Bank), a Fire Brigade, and was home to ‘C’ Squadron of the Northumberland (Hussars) Yeomanry and ‘A’ Company of 7th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers (Drill Hall, Copper Chare). In addition the town also had eight separate places of worship (St Mary’s, St Robert of Newminster, St James the Great, St George’s Presbyterian Church of England, the Congregational Church, the Primitive Methodist Church, the Salvation Army Hall, and a Wesleyan Methodist place of worship), a grammar school (King Edward VI), three public elementary schools run by Morpeth Corporation (the boys and girls schools at Castle Square and an infants’ school at Wellway), a mixed Church of England school (St James’s on Newgate Street) and a Catholic school (St Robert’s at Oldgate). The town also had its own newspaper (The Morpeth Herald owned by James and John S. Mackay of Bridge Street). Transportation services included its railway station and several carriers who travelled to Newcastle, Felton, Longhorsley, Longwhitton, Pegswood and Rothbury.

Like most places Morpeth had problems of poverty and depredation. The numerous Yards, alleys and Back Riggs of Morpeth, which had grown from ancient plough lines and medieval apportioning of land, were home to the poorer people of the town. Amongst the worst areas were north of the Market Place, the north of Manchester Street, Lumsden’s Lane and parts of Oldgate. For these people life was a never-ending struggle punctuated by high levels of disease and mortality. Cattle had been sold in the main streets until just ten years before the war and were still slaughtered in many of the alleys. The Yards were unsanitary slums with small, cramped, damp, dirty dwellings without adequate facilities. Disease and poor health were rife in these areas with high infant mortality. The influx of Irish immigrants in the later decades of the nineteenth century, many of whom were labourers on the construction of the Newcastle-Berwick railway line, added to the overcrowding in these slum areas. In the last years of the nineteenth century many of the Yards were lengthened and properties were crowded even closer together than before.²

In the shadow of gathering war clouds the family of the Duke of Portland celebrated the coming of age of his heir, the Marquis of Titchfield, at Bothal Castle. (Daily Mirror, 8 June 1914)

The Duke of Portland laying the foundation stones for a miners’ hospital, Summer 1914. (Daily Mirror)

A People’s War

In common with many other communities, Morpeth residents were enjoying the bank holiday while the fine weather was shadowed by the gathering European crisis. Morpethians had enjoyed a variety of entertainments but foremost amongst them was the holding of the annual Morpeth Olympic Games which finished on 3 August 1914. The weather had been outstanding and the events had been exceptionally well attended. The events also had a large number of entries, encouraged by the good prize money which was on offer. The wrestling had prizes of £7 10s for the nine and eleven stone categories while the any-weight category had a first prize of £3 15s. The final day also saw handicap races at 110 and 210 yards, the five man tug-of-war, and a fiercely contested band competition.³

The determination of many to carry on without letting the war disrupt their everyday lives was demonstrated by the continued enthusiasm for sport. Thus, just days before the declaration of war, the County Asylum (Morpeth) Cricket XI hosted Backworth Percy at its East Cottingwood ground. The match ended in the Morpeth team suffering a heavy defeat by 232 runs.⁴

Everyday life continued for many at this stage of the war and the local papers continued to host adverts for situations vacant looking for young men who would later find themselves either volunteering or being called up. Morpeth butcher J. Rutherford advertised for a butcher skilled at sales and slaughtering to join his team while a live-in country blacksmith was required at the Middleton farm of Mr S. Stirling.⁵ Clearly, despite the declaration of war, the war remained a distant event for a number of local residents and the scale of this conflict only later became clear to many Morpethians.

Theatre, performance and film were also popular pursuits to take local residents’ minds off the crisis. The Avenue Theatre in Morpeth advertised Payne & Co.’s Pictures and Varieties twice nightly shows at 7pm and 9pm. The theatre also advertised an upcoming attraction in the form of the popular tenor Mr Owen King, and regular Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday showings of the film The Curse of War, described as ‘a truly wonderful picture’ – an interesting title to show at this time. As well as this busy schedule the theatre also had a grand variety night every Friday.⁶

Despite the clear signs of growing conflict the commencement of the war caught a number of British citizens abroad in Germany on business or pleasure visits. In Morpeth there was great concern over Lord Joicey and his children as it was known that they had been in Germany in the week leading up to the declaration of war. Anxieties were not assuaged until 13 August when Lord Joicey was able to get a telegraph, via Gothenburg, to the directors of Lambton & Hetton Collieries Ltd which declared that he and his family were alright.⁷

Shortly after 7pm on Tuesday, 4 August there was a great deal of excitement in Morpeth as news spread around the town that the Territorials and Yeomanry battalions had been mobilised. Large cheering crowds quickly lined the streets of the town as the men, in full uniform, marched to their Drill Hall at Copper Chare. Although many expected the men to leave the town that night it became clear that their departure had been delayed until noon on Wednesday. One result of this mobilisation was that large numbers of horses belonging to local tradesmen were commandeered for service with the Yeomanry (Northumberland Hussars) causing some difficulties for local businesses,⁸ tradesmen and farmers. Because of increasing use of the petrol engine there were now fewer horses in Britain as they were not as widely needed to pull cabs, buses and trams. Farmers were particularly concerned that the army would look to them as a supply of horses to the detriment of their own businesses.⁹

By Wednesday morning large crowds were on the streets of Morpeth. At 12:30pm the assembled Territorials and Yeomanry paraded from Copper Chare under the command of Major James J. Gillespie and Captain J.E.N. Thompson. The route taken gave heart to the cheering crowds as the parade made its way down Newgate Street to the Market Square where it halted and the Mayor of the town (Alderman William Strafford Sanderson), the Rector of Morpeth (Canon Davies) and various council officials took the salute in front of large and enthusiastic crowds. The Mayor gave a short rousing speech in which he praised the men. He declared, ‘I am here today on behalf of the town to extend to you a hearty send off. (Cheers) In all dark days when Britain has been surrounded by hostile forces Northumberland has played no small part on former occasions, and I hope the same successes may be extended to you during this crisis as has heretofore crowned the same Fusiliers and Yeomanry with honour and glory. (Cheers) And when we have again bestowed upon us the blessings of peace, I hope that the glory of the Northumberland Fusiliers and Yeomanry will be greater than ever. (Cheers)’ The Mayor then gave a brief stirring quote and urged the men to be faithful to God before concluding by saying, ‘Remember England in the past has taken care of those left behind, and there will not be a hair of their heads disturbed while there is a living citizen in England. Good-bye, God bless you: and knock spots off our enemies. (Cheers)’¹⁰

The other dignitaries gave very brief speeches followed by a vote of thanks from Major Gillespie before the columns marched down Bridge Street and across the bridge to the train station.¹¹

Encouraged by the government to carry on with business as usual Morpeth traders and companies endeavoured to do just that, despite difficulties. The French-owned shop of Monsieur Victor Amlett at Bell’s Yard was one; they placed a large advert in the local press posing the question ‘Have you had Some!!!’ The advert claimed that Amlett’s was the place to go for the best bargains for boots, shoes, suits, jackets and ladies dresses.¹² In the case of Monsieur Amlett’s wife it must have been doubly difficult to carry on with business as usual as, in early 1914, her husband had disappeared and rumours swept the town that he had in fact been a spy in the pay of the Germans. In fact, Monsieur Amlett, who lived at Hood Street, wrote to the Morpeth Herald on 3 August stating that he was departing for his homeland of France and thanking the people of Morpeth for their kindness during the twelve years he had lived in the town. He also thanked his customers for their patronage and expressed the wish that they would continue to support his wife.¹³

Men of the 1/6th Northumberland Fusiliers and Northumberland Hussars assembled in the Market Square prior to entraining for their departure. (From collection of Keith Crichton)

After Monsieur Amlett left Morpeth he joined a French infantry regiment from where he maintained a lively correspondence with his wife. Several of these letters were published in the Morpeth Herald in order to give readers an idea of conditions at the front. The letter which was published on 23 October was written while only 100 yards from the German front line trenches and while under fire. His unit had been waiting to attack for twenty days and Monsieur Amlett makes clear the enthusiasm and impatience he and his comrades felt while waiting to begin the attack. Clearly a very courageous soldier Monsieur Amlett had taken it upon himself to carry out a daylight reconnaissance which entailed him actually entering a German trench before running back to the safety of his own lines while under fire. For this feat he was widely praised by his fellow officers and was mentioned in despatches. He had also carried out several similar reconnaissance missions under cover of darkness.

Monsieur Amlett was keen to maintain a cheerful outlook and shared the belief that, having been in some dangerous situations, he was confident of surviving the war. He also showed a naivety common to this period when he added, ‘I do think that from now the war will be very soon finished and another chapter of my life closed … When I left England I told you that I was leaving for three months. I do not think that I shall be far wrong from what I see.’ Monsieur Amlett appears to have joined up not only from a strong sense of patriotism but also from a sense of adventure and a desire to share in the excitement of wartime service; as well as noting his concern for his men and his determination to do his duty to the utmost, he stated that he was glad to ‘have added to my history’.¹⁴

In many ways life continued as normal for many Morpeth residents with the daily tasks of work, shopping and finding entertainment continuing. Crime also continued to be a problem in a minor way with three Morpeth miners (including two brothers) being brought up on charges of theft in August. The three were alleged to have stolen 8s 1d from a young woman on a train and a set of dominoes worth 1s from a public house in Bedlington Station.¹⁵

The first wartime Christmas saw a very heavy frost and large numbers of youngsters were out in the morning tobogganing on Castle Bank. Christmas services were very well attended. As was usual in the town the Mary Hollon Annuity and Coal Fund allowed for the supply of a ton of coal and 6lbs of beef to thirteen women and twelve men. In 1914 there was a surplus which enabled the trustees, the Town Council, to give a further half ton of coal to sixty-five deserving Morpethians. Businesses were closed (with most closed on Boxing Day too) and people amused themselves in various ways with a large number attending a concert by the Coxlodge Colliery Band at the Queens Head HQ of the Northern Cyclists’ Battalion. The inmates of the workhouse received their Christmas dinner of roast beef followed by plum pudding in the dining hall which was decorated with the traditional Christmas evergreens but also, in a nod to the war, with the flags of the Allies.

Business as Usual

We have seen how agriculture played a major role in Morpeth but there were also a significant number of small industrial concerns and services which were important to the town’s war effort. In common with a number of industrial concerns the owners of Swinney’s Ironworks were at pains to make public the fact that they were supportive of their workers who had gone off to serve abroad in the Territorials or Yeomanry. Swinney’s were particularly affected by the mobilisation as a large percentage of the workforce were members of either the Territorials or the Yeomanry. The company had decided that it would pay these workers half pay for the duration of their wartime service.¹⁶ A week later the council, perhaps inspired by the example of local businesses such as Swinney’s, agreed a week later to waive the rent fees for any families living in corporation property whose main breadwinner or head of family was serving in the armed forces. The Duke of Northumberland and local colliery owners likewise agreed to implement similar schemes.¹⁷

Local industries were being urged to continue with their businesses as usual while at the same time being patriotically supportive towards employees who wished to enlist and to increase productivity in the service of the national effort. During this period there were many adverts urging local businesses not to economise and to invest in new equipment, with one such advertisement reminding businesses that ‘Stagnation Is Not Economy and the man who will