Dimming of the Day

August 1914 95 On 29 August The Times was rightly horrified by the German destruction of Louvain and particularly the burning of the university library. This was not how war had been fought (if you ignored what might have been done by European countries – even gallant little Belgium – outside Europe). There had been a naval encounter off Heligoland, claimed as a brilliant victory, which was something of an exaggeration. Blackheath Rugby Club had decided to cancel its fixtures for the season. Middlesex had ended their season by beating Kent. Set 366 to win, Kent were all out for 67. Rambler in the Daily Mirror disapproved, ‘And there is another ignoble band of whom I caught a fleeting glimpse in St John’s Wood yesterday. They were the noble patriots pouring into Lord’s to cheer on the great contest between Kent and Middlesex,’ quoting ‘a man’ as calling them ‘rabbit-faced pinheads’ and suggesting ‘a young man who can spend his time at a cricket match just now would assuredly run at the sight of a German.’ The Mirror did not generally provide massive coverage for cricket, giving merely summarised scores of the first-class games. Yorkshire beat Somerset, who managed 90 in their second innings. Alonzo Drake took all ten for 35 in 8.5 overs – fifteen for 51 in the match. This was the first first-class game to be played at Clarence Park, Weston-super- Mare. According to A.W.Pullin 36 , ‘the wicket had been crudely prepared by a local clergyman whose zeal was unmistakeable, but who lacked expertise in the wicket-maker’s craft. A merest glance at the pitch was sufficient to make one realise that trouble for batsmen lay ahead.’ Dr Arthur Littlejohn, who had played a few matches for Middlesex in May and June, found himself second in the national batting averages and fourth in the bowling – both placings were a trifle anomalous, since apart from taking six for 42 against Worcestershire in May he had done little bowling and he had only batted five times (two of them not out) with a highest score of 66*. Sunday was 30 August and there is no copy of that day’s paper in The Times archive, though the edition was highly controversial. This was an issue in which The Times printed a despatch from Amiens that gave a rather more accurate view than official statements: it was over-excitedly characterised in the Commons as saying ‘that the Army had met with disaster, and that British regiments had been broken to bits.’ On this day Lord Roberts had made a speech while inspecting the new 7 th battalion of the City of London Regiment, saying, My feeling towards you is one of intense admiration. How very different is your action to that of the men who can still go with their cricket and football, as if the very existence of the country were not at stake. This is not the time to play games, wholesome as they are in the piping days of peace. No room here for the Francis Drake approach. Lord Roberts’ speech was 36 A.W.Pullin, History of Yorkshire County Cricket 1903-1923 , Chorley and Pickersgill.