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Key dates over January 1915

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Lives lost on this day: 1

2nd January 1915 - River Severn rising

Rolling casualty count: 568

1st Batt: ‘B’ Lines: Battalion HQ again shelled by Germans, this has now become a daily practice. A telephone and heavy cable issued by Brigade Signal Section which was put up in the evening between HQ and ‘C’ Company; 2nd Batt: Another day of very heavy sniping in trenches, relieved at 7 pm by 2nd HLI and marched back to Richebourg into Billets to rest; 3rd Batt: In billets at Locre.

Further Rise of the Severn: This evening the Severn started to rise again, rising another 2 inches during the week-end, so that its height at Diglis is now 12ft, 11 ins. A much wider area is now covered, and, in places, the river is well over half-a-mile wide. Nearly the whole of Pitchcroft is now under water, and a large part of the Croft Road is transformed into a canal. In the Hylton Road there is increased discomfort. The river is still not so high as it was during the big floods of four years ago, when the height reached was something like 13ft 9in. Though the floods have gone down at Bransford considerably, the roads are still impassable in many places, causing great inconvenience. On Sunday morning at 8 o’ clock, the river was 14 ft 2in above summer level (a rise of 5 in. over the previous day’s height), and this morning it is 3 inches higher than on Sunday; it is 14ft 5in., its highest point since December, 1910 (with the exception of last Thursday, when the figure was exactly the same);

Non-Impressment of Brood Mares: The Board of Agriculture and Fisheries give notice to farmers and owners of horses that in order to encourage the breeding of horses the War Office have issued instructions to their Purchasing Officers to avoid, as far as possible, the purchase of mares, and on no account to purchase by impressment any mare whose owner signs a declaration that he will use her for breeding next service session;

The total number of recruits accepted in the county during December was 1,018, the number enrolled last week being 447.

Information researched by Sue Redding