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Key dates over May 1915

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Lives lost on this day: 6

31st May 1915 - First German airship raid on London

Rolling casualty count: 1307

1st Batt: In trenches – 8th Division attached to Indian Corps from 6 am this morning; 2nd Batt: Battalion in billets at Mazingarbe;3rd Batt: In trenches E. Vierstraat;

The first Zeppelin air raids on London. 7 people are killed and 35 injured.

Crops Damaged by Frost: It is not often that serious damage is occasioned by frost so late as May 31st, but a sharp frost this morning did considerable damage to ground crops in some place, generally low-lying, in the Vale of Evesham. Beans, potatoes, marrows, and asparagus were cut down in places, and in some districts strawberries also suffered. The damage, however, was not general. Fruit crops were not, it is thought, seriously affected, and remain good, though plums are being extensively thinned by the result of cold winds and sudden changes of temperature;

“A Certain Liveliness” in Fish Street: Jane Mound, 3, Little Fish Street, was summoned for assaulting her neighbour, Fanny Smith, 2, Little Fish Street. Complainant said that a nail held up a clothes line, on which defendant’s clothes were. Defendant accused her of deliberately pulling the clothes line down, and assaulted her, knocking her down and kicking her in the back, bruising her badly. A voluble duet between complainant and defendant ensued, snatches of which could be gathered occasionally by the Court. Plaintiff laughed scornfully at defendant’s suggestion that she was drunk, saying that she had been with her children to the pictures – “and it was only a bottle of Parry’s pop which the children and I had.” Defendant described with relish some portions of the fight. “ I threatened to pull ‘er nose, which I did, gentleman” (she announced triumphantly);

Foothold for Horses: Sir, - I wish to call the attention of the authorities to the extremely dangerous state for carriage traffic of the road leading to Battenhall Hospital. I drove there on Saturday afternoon, and on returning, we found the horse could barely keep his feet on the tarred road and drag the carriage up the somewhat steep bit to the London Road. Two of the party got out, the third, an invalid, was much upset. With help from a passing gentleman, who pushed behind, and frequent halts of the frightened horse, we managed to gain the main road. Surely there is a law for the horse as well as the motor car, and some foothold might be provided. “S.”;

Information researched by Sue Redding