First World War. 05. Soldiers billeted in Witham For a list of other chapters about WW1, click here. General. Camps and billeting (from schoolnet web site) After men joined the army they were sent to local army camps to be turned into soldiers. As experienced officers were needed in France to organise the war against … Continue reading “First World War. 05. Soldiers billeted in Witham”
Tag: billeting
50. The First World War, part 3. More about the visiting soldiers.
“There was always an air of expectancy as a new battalion marched into Witham. I was a boy standing open-eyed outside my father’s harness-maker’s shop in the High Street, then a small market town. They marched in fours – packs on backs, rifles shouldered, bayonet scabbards at hips, each company with captain marching ahead, lieutenants … Continue reading “50. The First World War, part 3. More about the visiting soldiers.”
43. The First World War, part 2. Soldiers training in Witham.
A hundred years ago, our forbears had already lived through several months of the First World War. One of Witham’s volunteers was 32 year old Ernest Glass of 4 Chalks Road. He was a bricklayer’s labourer, but he joined the Navy and became a “stoker 1st class” on the ship H.M.S. Good Hope. Before long … Continue reading “43. The First World War, part 2. Soldiers training in Witham.”