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Key dates over July 1916

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 31

Lives lost on this day: 6

31st July 1916 - 10th Bn Front Line packed with men and communications difficult

Rolling Casualty Count: 3966

At the Front:

2nd Batt: A concert party was given by “The Shrapnells.”

4th batt: Parties worked at wiring in front and repairing communication trenches and also building wash places.

2.7th Batt: Men in working parties D Coy relieved by C Coy in the posts Wangerie, Masselotte Road Bend.

10th Batt: Staffs Reg who took our place in the trenches when we attacked, withdrew at dawn. Front Line packed with men and communications difficult. Royal Warwicks established themselves in the german trench and SW Borderer dug a trench from the road to High Wood. Batt relieved by 11th Suffolk Reg in the evening and bivouacked.

Yeomanry/Cavalry: The Turkish Commander, german General Kress von Kressenstein remained near the line of trenches waiting for the British attack. Twenty thousand men were there and a large number of guns.

On the Home Front:

On Sunday a rescue from drowning was made by Gunner William Candlin, 34, George Street. A young boy, named Richard Ingles (7), 21, Copenhagen Street, was playing near the Cathedral Ferry, when he fell into the water, which at this spot is very deep. Candlin, who was some distance away, ran to the spot, and, taking off his tunic, flung it into the water to Ingles, who was going under. Ingles caught hold of it, and was pulled ashore. Candlin was helped by a number of people, and Ingles was brought round. Miss Goodchild and Miss Deakin, of Bournbrook, Birmingham, who saw the rescue, informed the police that if it had not been for Candlin’s timely action Ingles would have drowned.

Husband and Wife: Rachel Smith, of 12, Moor Street, applied on the ground of persistent cruelty, for a maintenance order against her husband, Walter Smith, 8 Court, The Moors. Mrs Smith said that they had been married 29 years, and had 11 children. Defendant struck her on the bridge of the nose six weeks ago, and on another occasion he kicked her. He was jealous of his son-in-law, who is in France…The defendant in giving evidence, said that his wife fell down drunk against the sofa, after she had had some bottles of stout. When she spoke of his jealousy it was two years ago. Defendant denied that he had been persistently cruel. He had been practically a teetotaller for her sake, having only two pints a day. Eighteen years ago he admitted that he was convicted for assault. The case was dismissed.

Fire: On Saturday a man named Luke Knight, 286, Astwood Road, and his daughter Alice, were on Gorse Hill, and lighted a spirit lamp to boil some water. Knight accidentally knocked over the lamp, and it set the surrounding gorse on fire. The flames spread so rapidly that Knight was unable to beat them out. The City Police Fire Brigade arrived and soon extinguished the fire.

Information researched by the WWW100 team.