The events of May 1916
It is hard to read the stories coming back from the Front without using hindsight to put them in context.
At the time it must have seemed to readers at home that there was a reduction in the toll of dead and
wounded but, knowing as we do that the bloody events of the Somme were only two months away, there
are plenty of hints of the preparations going on.
At home there were some big debating points, led by the reports of military tribunals where men sought
to make a case why they should be exempt from military service. The balance between the military’s
need for more men and industry’s demands that taking too many would affect their ability to make the
money required to wage war was much discussed. And most passionate were the arguments over
conscientious objectors.
On a lighter note were the pros and cons of introducing for the first time daylight saving time, not least
for the effect it might have on church collections.
The home news also included some shocking child mortality rates, signs of war weariness especially in
maintaining distress funds, a train crashing through the barriers at Windhill station, and a crowd of
4-5,000 turning up for a cricket match between Idle and Saltaire despite the introduction of an
entertainment tax.
The links below will take you to pages containing stories published exactly 100 years before. The
headlines shown are only a taste of the stories that appear on that page.
5 May 1916
- Windhill vicar writes from the Front Line
- Letters home from “Eccleshill Road”
- Serving men condemn striking miners
- Large peak in infant deaths
- Haircuts go up to fourpence
- Salvation Army leader to visit Shipley
- Killed after just two days in the trenches
- Civilian distress shames ‘shirkers’ at home
- POWs give the view from the other side
- Schools mark Shakespeare anniversary
- Unions told they need new approach
- What counts most in a woman’s world
- Killed after just two days in the trenches
- Civilian distress shames ‘shirkers’ at home
- POWs give the view from the other side
- Harry is only survivor from shell blast
- Tribunal weighs opposing needs
- Nurse impressed by Anzacs
12 May 1916
- Windhill vicar writes from the Front Line
- Letters home from “Eccleshill Road”
- Serving men condemn striking miners
- Schoolboy drowned, fishing in canal
- Serving men in danger of losing home
- Not a ha’porth of plaster needed
- Killed after just two days in the trenches
- Civilian distress shames ‘shirkers’ at home
- POWs give the view from the other side
- Eccleshill lad’s impressions of India
- Authorities wary of changes in Saltaire
- Limiting families is threat to the country
- Killed after just two days in the trenches
- Civilian distress shames ‘shirkers’ at home
- POWs give the view from the other side
- Shell kills first church volunteer
- Parents struggle to accept pals’ words
- Soldier’s scorn at those who stay at home
19 May 1916
- Windhill vicar writes from the Front Line
- Letters home from “Eccleshill Road”
- Serving men condemn striking miners
- Men of conscience or skulking shirkers?
- Woman dies after washday fall
- Railwayman becomes J.P.
- Killed after just two days in the trenches
- Civilian distress shames ‘shirkers’ at home
- POWs give the view from the other side
- Train crashes through barrier at Windhill
- Women urged to play their part
- No to tin-rattling children
- Killed after just two days in the trenches
- Civilian distress shames ‘shirkers’ at home
- POWs give the view from the other side
- Harry Skirrow’s last letter
- Dangers of driving near the front line
- Visit to a ‘veritable wonderland’
26 May 1916
- Windhill vicar writes from the Front Line
- Letters home from “Eccleshill Road”
- Serving men condemn striking miners
- Shipley ‘character’ in court
- Crowds flock to watch Idle & Saltaire
- Pupils celebrate Empire Day and the flag
- Killed after just two days in the trenches
- Civilian distress shames ‘shirkers’ at home
- POWs give the view from the other side
- Vicar calls for better example from parents
- Tips from a master canary breeder
- Guardians consider Amelia’s false teeth
- Killed after just two days in the trenches
- Civilian distress shames ‘shirkers’ at home
- POWs give the view from the other side
- Army training is good for young men
- No-conscriptionists mocked
- Tribunals must consider business needs