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Key dates over December 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: 4

3rd December 1916 - Alice Ottley prizegiving

Rolling casualty count: 5057

2nd Batt: All Coys cleaning up am. At 2.45 pm, the batt marched to Longpre Station and entrained for Mericourt and from there marched to Morlancourt.

2/7th Batt: Batt attended Church Parade.

SMD RFA: the CO of the brigade went up to the Line to reconnoitre the positions held by the 104th Brigade RFA.

Home Front:

Chat and Comment – It was a young soldier back from France who was imparting military secrets to a young lady which would have made the eyes of his CO start out of his head had he heard them. Most of the tales were tall, but the greatest of all was reserved until the parting moment. Then the warrior confided to his lady friend the mysteries of the new gun. It was a 22inch, he solemnly declared and was being kept a great secret. Its powers were boundless; it would carry a huge weight of metal for miles, and, concluded the khaki clad fabricator, “if it doesn’t kill the Germans it takes ‘em prisoners!” Then he hurriedly left and his friend hurried to tell her friends the good news of England’s greatness. So rumours spread.

Alice Ottley School – Prize Distribution – The annual prize distribution in connection with the Alice Ottley School, Worcester, took place on Saturday afternoon. Viscount Cobham presided over a large attendance and the prizes were distributed by Miss E M Jourdain, Principal of St Hugh’s College, Oxford. Among the company were the Archdeacon of Worcester, Canon Bickersteth Ottley (brother of the late Headmistress).

Information researched by The Worcestershire World War 100 team