Household hints were often printed in the local newspapers. The following account was printed in the Bromley & District Time in 1917: Every housewife should realise the possibilities of salt as a cleanser. Indeed, salt and paraffin should be in the cleansing outfit of every householder, for together they form a combination which eradicates almost any dirt. For polishing mirrors nothing can exceed the merit of salt. When applying it the glass must be wet with clear water, then the salt rubbed on with a damp newspaper. The final rubbing…
Year: 2017
Phosferine #2
Another advert for Phosferine in the Bromley & District Times from 1917, and again another genuine soldier is using it, it seems. I was at Givenchy, Festubert, Neuve Chapelle, Arras and Loos before I got the would which necessitated the amputation of my left arm. The Hospital I was in was bombed every second day for two whole months. A comrade advised me to take Phosferine, but I did not feel anything would put me fight, for I was suffering from rheumatism through sleeping on damp and wet ground. I gave…
Gordon Ewart Thatcher
Obituary for Gordon Ewart Thatcher, a Petty Officer on the Destroyer “Cherwell” was reported in the Bromley & District Times, 30th October 1914, [pg 4] His pre-war military service included serving on the “Encounter” when Lord Kitchener visited New Zealand. During the war he was in the Red Sea expecting an engagement with the German Cruiser “Emdon”. His parents were Mr & Rs J Thatcher of Great Elms Road, Bromley. Gordon was one of five brothers.
Poisoned Sores
Another advert for Zam-Buk as featured in the local Bromley & District Times in 1917. Remember this was a time before Penicillin was discovered (in 1928). POISONED SORES Started with Blackheads Terrible Disfigurement Rapidly Cured by Zam-Buk In an interview with a London Pressman, Mrs F.E. Sharp, whose residence is St Arthingworth Street, West Ham Lane, Stanford, E., said:- “some months ago a little blackhead appeared at the side of my nose. I pinched it out with a watch key, which evidently was rusty. The result of this…
Wearing Furs
Fur Coats, Fur Trimmed Coats, Cloth Coats, Furs and Millnery. In October 1917, the shops were advertising winter wear. Fur, real fur in those days, was very popular with the affluent.
The Bus Conductor
Some of us will still remember the days when we paid our fares to a bus conductor or conductress and she would give us a little ticket in various colours according to the fare and then ‘clip’ it to prove it had been used. The bus driver did just that – drive the bus in his own little cab. State Your Destination – advert from Bromley & District Times, August 1918
Phosferine #1
Every few weeks an advert for Phosferine would appear, featuring a soldier and saying how it had helped him. I checked one or two of the men feature and they seem to be real names – maybe real people. I and my mates derived great benefit from the Phosferine Tablets my wife sent out to me. I have taken part in many big actions, including the Somme and Ypres engagements, and I am now engaged on observation and signalling work, etc., for the battery, which demands a pretty cool…
Poetry from the Front Line
A Poem from G.R. SOLDIER’S LAMENT ON A DULL EVENING If this were June – sweet month of sun and roses – And all the woods were filled with singing birds, And I beside a streamlet dreamed and wandered, My soul entranced, my heart too full for words, I should rejoice, and sing aloud with rapture, With all the world then I should be at peace, An sweet content be mine that from my labours, If but one day, I had found release. But what’s the use? ‘Tis not the…
The House for Juvenile Clothing, 1917
Here are the fashions for the younger generation. No mobiles here, just running around! I think the Peter Pan Outfit for boys is particularly cute.
Corporal H W Mummery
Mrs Mummery, Albion Road, Marden, has received news that her husband, Corporal H W Mummery, King’s Own Royal Lancasters, has been killed in the recent fighting at the Front. He was the eldest son of Mr & Mrs Mummery of Star Road, Ashford, and late of Bromley. He was educated at the Bickley and Widmore Schools, and before joining up was employed as a gardener at Blythe Wood, Bromley. In a letter received by his wife from the Chaplain of the battalion it stated that the Colonel was very pleased…