Boys Charged with stealing apples The Bromley & District Times reported on a number of cases of boys stealing apples from Orchards on the Bromley borough area in the month of August 1918. Perhaps the apples were too good to resist, or the boys had a desperate need for food, who knows, but it seems they were willing to travel far from their homes to steal these crops from orchards in Chelsfield, Farnborough and St Mary Cray. There was a hefty fine for being caught at 15s each – at…
Category: News
Local schools finally acquire land for gardening purposes
Gardening at Bickley Schools Bickley and Widmore schools reported that at last it was possible to acquire a piece of land for gardening purposes. As it was so late in the season for agricultural classes to begin, it was hardly likely that the Board of Education would make any grant in respect of these classes, and the School Management Committees recommended that the piece of land should be acquired on the terms offered 1 shilling per rod subject to the Board of Education agreeing that the time spent on it…
Strong Protest by Butchers as to the Fair Distribution of Meat
The Meat Supply: Strong Protest by Butchers Supported by Committee The question of the quality of the meat now being supplied to Bromley came up in two letter, which were read to the Mayor. The first, which was addressed to the Executive Officer, was as follows: Dear Sir,- At a meeting of the Meat Trade Section of the Bromley Chamber of Commerce held on Thursday last several members reported having received very serious complaints from their customers as to the inferior quality of the meat supplied. Whilst the butchers are…
Wartime Weddings
Sergeant G. N, Beazlie and Miss S. Mockford An attractive wedding took place at Widmore Road Baptist Church, Bromley on Saturday (19th May 1945) when Sergeant George N. Beazlie U.S.A.A.F., second son of Mr. and Mrs Robert H. Beazlie of Florida was married to Miss Shelia Mockford, only daughter of Mr and Mrs E. E. Mockford of 158 Palace View, Bromley. The bridegroom, who has been in the Service since 1941 was in the North African campaign with the 8th Air Force. The service was conducted by the Rev. Albert…
They came to Britain, looking for safety…
They came to Bromley, looking for Safety REPATRIATION OF BELGIAN REFUGEES During World War 1, it is estimated that Britain was home to almost 250,000 Belgian refugees, who had come to Britain seeking safety when the Germans invaded Belgium in 1914. Some were housed with British families across the country, while overs were sent to purpose-built villages where they had their own schools, shops, churches, hospitals and newspapers, as well as prisons and police force. These areas were considered Belgian territory and run by the Belgian government. They even used the Belgian…
National Kitchens Open During WW1
National Kitchens were opened during World War One to provide affordable nutritious meals for war workers and poorer people. The school dinner ladies and set up may have looked like this. This article was taken from the Bromley & District Times, 22nd March 2918 Communal Kitchen and School Dinners Under the able guidance of Mr A Goymer and the energetic secretaryship of Mr Foxwell, the village Food Control Committee has brought forward a scheme for a communal kitchen. Mr Goymer explained the details of cost and organisation, and said that…
A little bit of butter; nice if you could get it
MARGARINE STOCKS REQUISITIONED DISTRIBUTION TO-MORROW MORNING The Bromley Food Control Committee have requisitioned a quantity of margarine in Bromley, which is being distributed among the retailers in various parts of the borough , and instructions have been given that the whole of it is to be placed on sale simultaneously at nine o’clock to-morrow (Saturday) morning. You can be sure that queues would have been forming from early morning by housewives and children in order to get their share of the margarine. Butter and margarine were in very short supply…
Military Ancestors website updated
It’s been a busy few weeks, but I’m happy to announce that I have added some more entries onto my Military Ancestors database. After a labour of love, I have just added entries featured in the St Mary & Orpington District Times newspaper from the first part of 1918. These are now searchable on www.militaryancestors.co.uk/search I have also added the following to the ‘help’ on the Military Ancestors: The website has two idiosyncracies: From time to time it likes to double or even treble the entries. I am told that…
Military Medal for Corp. C Brown
It will be learnt with much pleasure by residents of Farnborough that a gallant soldier, well known to many of them, has been awarded the Military Medal for devotion to duty during battle. Corporal C Brown, of the Middlesex Regiment, was employed in the nursery and market garden of Mr W Lawrence, at Crofton Road for nine years before being called up in March, 1916. He went out to the Front the following August, and has since seen a great deal of severe fighting. During a recent heavy enemy attack…
Military Cross for Lieut. H D Reynolds
It will be learnt with great pleasure that another son of Mr and Mrs Reynolds, of Morden Lodge, Shortlands, Lieutenant Herbert D Reynolds, East Lancs Regiment has been awarded the Military Cross for gallant conduct in recent operations. Lieutenant Reynolds was personally congratulated upon the field before his regiment by his Divisional General upon his fine example. It is officially stated that the award was made under the following circumstances: “When all his officers had become wounded, he took charge of the attacking companies, and led them on to the…