Dimming of the Day

A full-page advert from Eastbourne proclaimed that all was normal, including steamer excursions. On 2 September the first official details of British losses had been released. The absurdity of the official clampdown on news is shown by the Daily Express carrying an article about new German guns of amazing range and power written not by an expert or even a reporter but by the Vicar of Gorleston who had the story from a wounded French officer. Surrey finishedwith a win by an innings and 36 runs against Gloucestershire which would have been much more but for an innings of 165 in 120 minutes by the captain, C.O.H.Sewell, South African-born and the county secretary as well as captain. Gloucestershire, who had a dismal record for the season (one victory and 17 defeats in their 22 matches), only had ten men for this game as Alf Dipper had already enlisted. Essex beat Somerset, Nottinghamshire beat Leicestershire heavily. In that game William Odell was playing his last match for Leicestershire. He died at Passchendaele. At Bournemouth Hampshire scored 477 for a lead of 228 against Kent (Mead 128) while at Hove Sussex were 316-1 (Vine 164* and Jupp 108*) in reply to Yorkshire’s 461. Mr C.B.Fry had been gazetted as an honorary lieutenant in the RNR (though he was not going to see action – he was involved with the TS Mercury ). Harrods was sending 20,000 one-ounce packets of tobacco to the front. It was reported that at Deal several young women went round fixing white goose feathers in coat lapels and hatbands of young men lounging around the front. Admiral Charles Fitzgerald had founded the Order of the White Feather, encouraging young women to hand out white feathers to young men not in uniform. It was discouraged by the authorities (since many of the victims might be convalescent soldiers or engaged in war work) but lived long in legend. The Times reported a rush to enlist in London, with over 4,000 men joining up. The military correspondent explained that the object of the war in France was to tie down as many German troops as possible so allowing the Russians to deliver the knockout blow (though in reality the Russians had been defeated at Tannenberg and from now onwards would be going backwards). The paper did report heavy Russian losses but morale uninjured. St Petersburg was to be renamed Petrograd because it removed the German ‘burg’ from the name. From Paris stories included a flood of refugees, new atrocity stories (in this case almost certainly false) and the information that the Germans were starving and reduced to eating their horses. By 3 September The Times is admitting to heavy losses for the BEF, though far fewer than those suffered by the French and Belgians or, so it is claimed, the Germans. Hampshire beat Kent by an innings, Jaques, Kennedy and McDonell bowling them out for 145. The last act was at Hove where Sussex and Yorkshire gave up the game as a draw at tea time. Sussex were dismissed for 405. August 1914 97