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Key dates over April 1915

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Lives lost on this day: 1

19th April 1915 - Funeral of Frederick Banner, 1st Battalion Worcs. regiment

Rolling casualty count: 979

1st Batt: In billets near Fleurbaix; 2nd Batt:The Battalion marched at 11pm and went into new billets in Bethune in Divisional reserve;3rd Batt: In trenches E. Dickebush. 9 wounded;

Primrose Day: Today is being fairly generally observed in Worcester, and buttonholes are plentiful. A posy of primroses has been placed at the foot of Queen Victoria’s statue in front of the Shirehall; 1st Worcestershire’s Funeral: The funeral took place at Bromsgrove, of Lance-corporal Frederick Banner, 1st Worcesters, who died from wounds. The Bromsgrove Town Band attended. The coffin, on which was placed the Union Jack, was borne by the local branch of the St. John’s Ambulance Corps. The deceased ‘s regiment was represented, but it was found to be impossible to accord full military honours. Lance-corporal Banner was 25 years of age and sustained bullet wounds in the head at Neuve Chapelle;

This morning the 16th Warwicks arrived at their camp, picturesquely situated on Malvern Common, below the railway line. The Battalion, some 1,300 strong, are delighted with the position of their camp, with the hills on one hand, New Pool on the other, and the beautiful Vale of the Severn stretching away for miles. Malvern’s bracing air circulates freely amongst the tents, and the Battalion will undoubtedly benefit physically with such a desirable environment;

8th Worcesters in the Trenches: We understand that some platoons of the 8th Battalion have had their first experiences in the trenches, and that they acquitted themselves well. A member of the Battalion, writing to his brother in Worcester, expresses his thanks for a parcel, containing cigarettes, etc., which, reached him when he came out of the trenches. Referring to the “baptism of fire,” he says they got though all right, and that the Regulars “think a lot of us, and will do anything for us.” Another Territorial, writing to his friends at Pershore, says – “If only the strikers would get on and let us have ammunition, we could get on, and do some real work. The strikers can’t call themselves Englishmen to act as they are doing in a crisis like the present.”

Information researched by Sue Redding