The response to the appeal for subscriptions has been, on the whole, deplorably bad

Would St Bartholomew’s School memorial be able to go ahead?

THE WAR MEMORIAL.

Committee.
E.W. Mansfield, Chairman of the Govenors.
C.A. Hawker, Mayor.
F.W. Thoyts, Chairman of the School Committee.
H.F.E. Peake, Chairman of the Finance Committee.

Governors of the School.
A.E. Allnatt, formerly Cricket Captain.
E. Bradfield, formerly Senior Prefect.
I.K. Fraser, formerly Senior Prefect and Editor of “The Newburian”.
A.J. Coles, formerly Senior Prefect, “Editor of The Newburian,” Captain of Football XV.

Old Boys.
B.C.L. James, Senior Prefect.
E. Sharwood-Smith, Head Master.
C. St. A. Lee, Second Master, Hon. Sec. and Treasurer of Committee.

All communications should be addressed to Mr. Lee.

THIRD LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.

In publishing the third list of subscribers to the War Memorial Fund, we would point out that the response to the appeal for subscriptions has been, on the whole, deplorably bad. It is to be hoped that the many Old Boys and others connected with the school who have not already sent in their donations will make an immediate response to this most important appeal.

£ s d

Pte. A.E.J. Chislett 10 0 0
H. Chislett, Esq. 5 0 0
E.B. Milnes, Esq. 5 0 0
P. Williams, Esq. 5 0 0
J. Rankin, Esq. 3 3 0
Lt. W.B. Collins 2 0 0
Mrs. Shaw 2 0 0
K.P.Leng, Esq. 2 0 0
Corpl.H.S. Hobbs }
Sgt. P.R. Hobbs} 1 0 0
Capt. J. Allee 1 1 0
J.F. Cannan, Esq. 1 0 0
T. Bradfield, Esq. 1 1 0
Lt. W.H. Glover 1 1 0
Miss Brough 1 10 0
Miss Gibson 1 0 0
P. Simmons, Esq. 1 1 0
Miss Farmer 10 6
J. Parr, Esq. 10 0
J.B. Webb, Esq. 10 6
W.C. Franks 10 6
B.C.L. James 10 6
Mrs. Huxham 10 0
Mrs. Staples 10 0
Mrs. Hale 10 0
J.W.Knight, Esq. 5 0

ROLL OF THE FALLEN

ALLEN, Pte. W.H., Grenadier Guards.
BANCE, Lieut., R.A., 5th Royal Berkshire Regiment.
BUCKINGHAM, Lieut., P.E., R.A.F.
BURGESS, Lieut., N.G., Croix de Guerre, R.N.V.
CANNON, H.S., Motor Despatch Rider.
CHISLETT, Trooper, H.J.W., 1/1st Berkshire Yeomanry.
COWELL-TOWNSHEND, Lieut., R., R.A.F.
COX, Pte., C.W., Royal Berkshire Regiment.
CURNOCK, Lieut., C.A., 10th East Surrey Regiment.
DAVIES, Corpl., P.E., 10th East Surrey Regiment.
DAVIS, A.H., London Artists Corps.
EDWARDS, 2nd Lieut., F.A.L., M.C., Royal Berkshire Regiment.
EVERS, Capt., B.S., 9th West Yorkshire Regiment.
GRIFFIN, 2nd Lieut., H.S., 2/24th Royal Berkshire Regiment.
HALLEN, Corpl., J.V., 1st Surrey Rifles.
HARRIS, L.A., Royal Warwick Regiment.
HERBERT, Pte. G.W., Royal Welsh Fusiliers.
JONES, Rfn., S.W., 2nd Rifle Brigade .
MATHEWS, Trooper, S.W., 2nd Rifle Brigade.
MORTIMER, Pte. F.C., 4th North Staffordshire Regiment.
MYDDELTON, 2nd Lieut., E.G., Suffolk Regiment.
NASH, Pte. J.O., Royal Engineers.
PATTERSON, Capt., R.A., 1st Battalion Rifle Brigade.
PAYZE, A.R., 50th Canadian Gordon Highlanders.
PEARSON, Pte. K.H., Artists’ Rifles.
PLENTY, Major, E.M., R.A.F.
QUARTERMAN, 2nd Lieut., P.H., 2/24th East Lancashire Regiment.
RAVENOR, Lieut., G.P., Royal Berkshire Regiment.
RAVENOR, Corpl., H., Australian Contingent.
ROBINSON, 2nd Lieut., A.H., 1st Manchester Regiment.
SOLWAY, Pte. D.G., Oxon and Bucks Light Infantry attached Royal Berkshire Regiment.
SAVAGE, 2nd Air Mechanic, E.G., Royal Flying Corps.
SHARP, Lieut., F.H., Royal Berkshire Regiment.
SHIPLEY, Trooper, A.J., Berkshire Yeomanry.
SHUTLER, Pte. R., Berkshire Yeomanry.
SOMERSET, Lieut., F.H., South African Infantry.
STEVENS, Pte. E.J., M.M., Royal Army Medical Corps.
SWINLEY, Lieut., G.N.B., 3rd Battalion K.O.S.B.
WARREN, Sergt.-Major, C.M.
WILDE, Lieut., E.J., Leicester Regiment.
WYLLIE, Corpl., A., Berkshire Yeomanry, attached Worcester Regiment.

The Newburian (magazine of St Bartholomew’s School, Newbury), April 1919 (N/D161/1/9)

Reading School’s contribution to the war

A complete listing of Reading School’s alumni who had served in the war.

OLD BOYS SERVING IN HIS MAJESTY’S FORCES.

This list has been compiled from information received up to December 14th, 1918; corrections and additions will be welcomed and should be addressed to: – R. Newport, Esq., Reading School, Reading.

Allnatt, Rifleman N.R. — London Rifle Brigade.
(killed in Action).
Ambrose, 2nd Lieut. L.C. — S.L.I.
Anderson, Pte. L.G. — Can. Exp. Force
Appelbee, 2nd Lieut. T. — 13TH West Yorks.
(Killed in Action).
Atkinson, Lieut. E.G. — Indian Army
Atkinson, Capt. G.P. — 6TH Royal North Lancs.
Atkinson, 2nd Lieut. J.C. — R.A.F.
Aust, 2nd Lieut. H.E. — Yorkshire Regt.
(Twice Wounded).
(Killed in Action).
Aveline, Lieut. A.P. — Royal Berks Regt,
(Wounded).
(Military Cross).
Baker, 2nd Lieut. A.C.S. — R.G.A.
Baker, Rifleman A.E. — London Irish Rifles.
(Wounded).
Baker, Rifleman R.S. — London Irish Rifles.
(Wounded).
Baker, Lieut. T.H. — 8TH Royal Berks Regt.
(Wounded)
Balding, Capt. C.D. — Indian Army.
Banks, Pte. W.R. — Public School Corps.
(Killed in Action).
Bardsley, Capt. R.C — Manchester Regt.
(Wounded).
Barnard, F.P. —
Barroby, Trooper. F. — Strathcona Horse.
Barry, Capt. L.E. — R.A.F.
Baseden, Lieut. E. — Royal Berks Regt.
(Killed in Action).
Baseden, 2nd Lieut. M.W. — R.A.F.
Batchelor, Lieut. A.S. — Duke of Cornwall’s L.I.
Bateman, Capt. W.V. — Royal Munster Fusiliers.
Bayley, 2nd Lieut. F. — Chinese Labour Battalion.
Beckingsale, Pte. R.S. — Canadian Contingent.
Beckingsale, Capt. R.T. — Tank Corps (Military Cross).
(Wounded).

Belsten, E.K. — R.A.F.
Biddulph, 2nd Lieut. R.H.H. — Royal Berks Regt.
(Died of Wounds).
Bidmead, Pte. — Wilts regt.
Black, Pte. F. — Public School Corps.
(Killed in Action).
Blazey, A.E.H. — R.A.F.
Blazey, 2nd Lieut. J.W. — Royal Berks Regt
(killed in Action).
Bleck, Lieut. W.E. — R.F.A.
Bliss, 2nd Lieut. A.J. — Leinster Regt.
(Killed in Action).
Bliss, Pte. W. — 2ND Batt.Hon.Art.Coy. (more…)

An envelope to pass around the Christmas dinner table

Men blinded in the war might have dependants.

Sir Arthur Pearson makes a Christmas appeal for the Children of Blinded Soldiers. He asks that on Christmas Day an envelope will be passed round the Christmas dinner table for contributions. He hopes to collect £250,000 so as to provide a sum of five shillings per week for each child up to the age of sixteen years. These envelopes will be placed in church both on Christmas Day and the Sunday previous [23 December 1917]. They may be returned to the Vicar, or sent direct to Sir Arthur.

South Ascot Parochial Magazine, December 1917 (D/P186/28A/17)

Putrid bodies and foul vapours: “I have really seen the horrors of war”

Sydney Langford Jones (nickname Jonah) was a young artist and conscientious objector with deep seated religious objections to war. He was to spend time in prison as a result of this. However, his close friend Reginald Pearson, another artist, did join up. His frank letter to Sydney gives some of the most graphic details of the horrors of war we have seen, things which may well have been omitted from letters to sisters and churches.

Postmarked 14 June 1915

B Company 1st Bat. Lincolnshire Regiment
British Exp. Force

My dear friend Jonah

How I wish I could have seen more of you and I even wanted to turn back that Saturday night and catch you up to say goodbye again.
Since then I have really seen the horrors of war such as I never dreamed possible, marching at midnight with a lovely moon through the famous old town you have heard so much of, flaming all over the place and not a single house untouched. Stones, bricks, paving stones in what was once the roads, putrid bodies under the heaps of broken bricks once houses, and furniture blown out of the windows.

The old Cathedral and Hall as big as the Doges’ Palace and once very fine I should think now but a skeleton of ragged bones rapidly growing less and less, and the cemetery, no longer sacred, is blown to atoms with holes in it 40 yards round without the slightest exaggeration, for I measured one, and hemispherical shape, and the whole town a collection of foul vapours, still being shelled, shelled, shelled.

From there we were marched to a wood full of dugouts where we remained all next day being shelled, losing many men.

About 4 o’clock the whole lot fixed bayonets and travelled through the wood arriving at a communication trench by dark, full of mud up to the men’s thighs, hundreds of shots fired over it to catch as many as possible who happened to get out.

Along this [wading?] trench about 6’ deep and so narrow the men struggled passing those who were coming out, and eventually I found myself in the most extraordinary position ever created, but which I must not mention though I could draw you a perfect map from memory.

Trenches scarcely 3’ deep, parapets and bullet proof, strobing over dead men, bullets, bullets everywhere and the next 3 days cannot be spoken of. Trenches blown in beyond all recognition, and the first thing I saw when down broke was a dragoon with a little cat on his lap, which he had been stroking, lying both dead right across the trench, horrible, horrible, horrible.

I lost 18 wounded, 3 killed and 1 officer seriously wounded and here was I for the 1st time in charge of nearly a Company in the worst position ever held. Strategically bad, too few men, and for every German shell which came intermittently, every 20 I ought to say, we acquired a little pill in return.

9 miles march 3 days – the trenches 9 miles out with no sleep, little food and small shot, would offend the nostrils of death himself, leave men a bit fatigued, and so my first experience of war is passed and as a matter of fact I did well.

So much for my troubles for at present I sit in an orchard where we are bivouacked, resting.

The God of all the men we love is with me, I know, and this wonderful help and guidance are seared on my brain.

I am too tired to write much and so I must say goodbye.
God bless you always
Your dear friend
RO

Letter from Reginald Oswald Pearson to Sydney Langford Jones (D/EX1795/1/5/2)