Cecil Henry Viney was the son of Mr & Mrs C T Viney of Dartmouth, Durham Avenue, Bromley, who had been residents at South Hill Park for many years. His father was a Church warden at St Mark’s church, Bromley. Cecil was educated at South Lodge, Enfield Chase & Winchester. When war broke out he was a student at R.A. School of Painting. He was granted a commission in Aug 1914. Trained at Weymouth and attached to the 2nd Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment. On the 9th May 1915 he was in charge of 31…
Tag: WW1
Lieutenant Oswald Payne
Lieutenant (John) Oswald Payne was the son of Mr & Mrs Frederick Payne of New Farm, Bromley. Prior to the war, he was a junior partner in the firm of Baxter, Payne, and Lepper, (Bromley and Beckenham), and a Fellow of the Surveyors’ Institution and secretary of the Kent Branch of the Land Union. Payne joined the Artists’ Rifles immediately on the outbreak of war and was later granted a Lieutenant’s commission to the 4th Royal Warwickshires and later to the 1st Battalion. He was killed in action in April…
Warning to take your own Tea on Holiday with you
In 1918 the Ministry of Food proved it cared about its nations love of Tea after sending a message out to the public warning them that they may not be able to obtain supplies of their beloved brew whilst visiting holiday resorts, telling them to ‘take their own’ with them. Take Tea With You The Ministry of Food desires to warn visitors to holiday resorts that they must not rely on being able to obtain supplies of tea while away from home. Persons who do not propose to stay at…
Great Demonstration on the 4th Anniversary of the War, 1918
With the entry of the American troops, fresh and ready for the fight, in April, 1918 and the failure of the German Spring Offensive, the mood of the country becomes more optimistic for an end to the fighting. There was a celebration of the 4th Anniversary of the war on Martin’s Hall. These three men, The Mayor, Frederick Gillett; the Right Honourable H.W. Forster M.P.; and Sir Leonard Powell, all gave rousing speeches at the demonstration. It still needed three months until the Armistice was finally signed and the fighting…
Miss Beatrix Batten
It’s always nice to see women receiving awards for their efforts. Here we have Miss Beatrix Batten, Commandant of Abbey Lodge V.A.D. Hospital, Chislehurst awarded the M.B.E She was born in April 1886 and lived with her parents and sister at Foxdeane in Lower Camden, Chislehurst. Her father was a solicitor. Known as Trixie she graduated from Girton College, Cambridge. She volunteered with the Red Cross in 1913 and rose to become Area Commandant. She was awarded the Red Cross War Medal for over 1000 hours of unpaid work during…
‘Voices of the Home Fronts’ – talk at Kew
I will be presenting a paper at the Voices of the Home Fronts: Reflections and Legacies of the First World War Conference at the National Archives at Kew on Friday 19th October. Under the ‘Post-war provisions and practicalities’ section I will be talking about the housing crisis after the Great War and how Bromley implemented Lloyd George’s policy, ‘Homes Fit for Heroes’. Tickets are on sale now [su_button url=”https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/voices-of-the-home-fronts-reflections-and-legacies-of-the-first-world-war-tickets-47713533463″ target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#51ccd1″ color=”#ffffff” size=”6″ radius=”0″ icon=”icon: ticket” icon_color=”#fffff”]Book tickets here >[/su_button]
Update to Military Ancestors database
I have recently updated my database on Military Ancestors. I am therefore pleased to announce that the database now contains names from World War 2, from the outbreak of war in 1939 to the end of 1940. [su_button url=”http://www.militaryancestors.co.uk/search/” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#51ccd1″ color=”#ffffff” size=”6″ radius=”0″ icon=”icon: search” icon_color=”#fffff”]Search database here >[/su_button] The database is very easy to use, but please use the advice below to help you narrow down your search. Help and Advice The site allows you to make searches using surnames, but also keywords such as road…
Playing Sports on the Front Line – August, 1918
Soldiers on the Front Line often took part in a variety of entertainment and sporting activities to keep up morale during the quiet periods of war. One such letter, written to the Editor of the Bromley & District times in August 1918, provided an insight into one such event. Two members of the Royal Engineers, who were both local to the Bromley district, were reported as being the local competitors for one such sporting event. Corporal J.B. Hopgood, an old member of Bromley Football Club, and Corporal W.E Copping of Bickley.…
Boys Charged with Stealing Apples
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…
Every Man Who Is Fit to Fight is Fit to Pension – Demand for Justice
The National Association of Discharged Sailors and Soldiers (NADSS) was a British veterans’ organisation. Founded in early 1917 at a conference in Blackburn, the group drew together various local groups representing working men who had served in World War I but had since been discharged. The organisation campaigned for better pensions, and more opportunities for re-training. Bromley had its own local branch, who in June 1918 held a mass meeting in the Market Square, Bromley to demand justice for the ex-fighting men and the dependents of the gallant men who…