Dimming of the Day

76 August 1914 The Daily Express provided a lot of information. This Saturday, not only were the usual cricket scores there, but for the bank holiday weekend there was a long list of ‘where to go for the best cricket matches’ including a very long list of club fixtures, the South London League, the Harrow and Wealdstone League, and the Battersea Churches Association games on Wandsworth Common. The racing at Goodwood was ‘largely spoiled by the absence of a large number of officers of both Services through anticipation of recall to their ships or regiments’. The reports in the newspapers concentrated on describing the ladies’ dresses. On Sunday 2 August, The Times indeed printed a special edition of eight pages. The news was that Germany had declared war on Russia and German troops had invaded Luxembourg and – in the latest reports – France. The bank rate was raised to 10%. There were treaty obligations to do with the neutrality of Luxembourg, though nobody had responded as yet (and never would – this seemed to be the last time anyone mentioned Luxembourg). British involvement was not inevitable, but it was getting very close. The 3 rd was August Bank Holiday Monday. The leading news was – at last – the war. The actual war news was much the same as yesterday’s – Germany had declared war on Russia and had invaded Luxembourg and France. Word from Russia was that they were awaiting Britain’s decision. Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance had set out on the first leg of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition – but would not actually leave Britain for several days (Winston Churchill had been consulted and had said ‘go’). The report said that arrangements had been made for the King to meet them at Cowes – but that might now be Buckingham Palace as the regatta had been cancelled. The Times said, ‘War has come upon Europe so swiftly that few understand how or why’: a statement that could still be made about that time today. The assassination in Sarajevo had provided the ‘merest pretext’ for attempting to obtain Austro-German control of the Balkans, Asia Minor and the sea routes to Egypt and Italy. But there were still those who wrote to the paper arguing that Britain could stay out of what was still largely a Balkan conflict. The Daily Express was in no doubt. Blazed across the top of the front page was, ‘Is Britain to stand dishonoured before the world?’ The paper was now all for war in support of France. There was no mention of Belgium. There was, however, still room to report that the restaurants of London were being swept clean of staff as the waiters were called up by their lands – 140 (mainly French and 80 of them cooks) from the Savoy alone. Service, it said, was slow: the quality of cooking was not mentioned. The cabinet had met twice; the second time after news came of the German moves against Luxembourg and France, and had apparently come to a decision which would be announced “today”.