Carlisle in the Great War

David M Carter

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781473840904
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World War I
• Index: History

How the experience of war impacted on the town, from the initial enthusiasm for sorting out the German kaiser in time for Christmas 1914, to the gradual realization of the enormity of human sacrifice the families of Carlisle were committed to as the war stretched out over the next four years. A record of the growing disillusion of the people, their tragedies and hardships and a determination to see it through. Already an important railway junction, with local industrial and commercial interests reflecting its historical position on the border with Scotland, Carlisle became a key settlement in the Great War. The Carlisle story includes the arrival of Belgian Refugees; the care of wounded men passing through the city on hospital trains; recruiting the Lonsdale Battalion; dealing with the aftermath of the Gretna rail disaster; caring for the wounded brought to the local hospitals after major battles; the effect of the Gretna Munitions factory on the city and state ownership of public houses and breweries. Beneath these new activities normal life continued with children going to school, local government dealing with a growing population and daily work and commerce

CHAPTER 1

Carlisle before August 1914

Geography and short history – Population – Diocese – Local business – City women – Lord Lonsdale – Relations with Cumberland – Public health – Importance of voluntary organisations – Council responsibilities – Local press.

Carlisle, England’s northern city has traditionally looked both north and south. As an English city it suffered from difficult communication with the capital, road access made difficult by the fells at Shap and the Pennines at Stainmore. Geography favoured contact with Scotland, but politics and defence determined it remained an English border stronghold.

Its geographical isolation from London and its position on the last crossing of the River Eden before encountering the wide and dangerous Solway estuary, resulted in Carlisle developing as the civic centre for the county of Cumberland controlling the crossing. The districts surrounding the city, such as Wetheral, Wigton and Stanwix, were gradually brought into its sphere of influence and became more closely aligned.

The history of conflict between England and Scotland resulted in the Border area becoming, for many centuries, a disputed territory where settlement was difficult and hazardous. Carlisle had the River Eden to act as a barrier to those attacking from the north and the Castle and Citadel rose alongside businesses to cater for the economic needs of the local populations, both English and Scots. The local economy was based on trade between the countries, particularly the passage of cattle from the Highlands to the markets in the north of England. Behind the city walls manufacturing and markets grew and banking and legal services emerged to cater for the different systems of the two countries.

It was the development of the railways during the nineteenth century that gave Carlisle a central position within a transport system which linked it more closely to the surrounding areas and other parts of both England and Scotland. The first line, opened by the Newcastle and Carlisle Company in 1836, mainly carried freight between Carlisle and the Carlisle Canal, and by 1838 across the Tyne Gap to Blaydon near Newcastle. A station for the less important passenger traffic opened in 1838 in London Road, an inconvenient distance from the city centre. Other lines opened in the following years: to Maryport in 1843, Lancaster in 1846, to Glasgow and Edinburgh on the Caledonian line in 1848 and the more important Waverley line to Edinburgh via Hawick which opened in 1862. The Citadel Station, which formed a major focus in the traffic of trains during the First World War, was built in 1847 and by 1876 all seven lines which served the city passed into the imposing station in the centre of Carlisle.

Map of Carlisle. Carlisle Library

During the nineteenth century industries developed and focused on engineering, textiles, chemicals and food processing. Kelly’s Directory of 1911 described Carlisle as a city where:

‘The trade is that of an agricultural district but it has been materially enlarged by the numerous extensive works in the neighbourhood, including that of Hudson, Scott and Sons, printers and lithographers on tin, and Cowans Sheldon and Co Ltd, Engineers. There are also other engineering works, iron foundries, breweries, tanneries and biscuit factories. The locomotive carriage and wagon repairing and cleaning depots and creosote works of the various railway companies employ over 1,000 men.’

The population of the city in 1911 was 46,420 and by a review in 1914 was standing at 52,000. The city and surrounding area were predominantly rural and retained many of the features of a hierarchy based on land and title. A number of retired military men who had served in the Border Regiment Headquarters at the Castle remained in the area and some took on positions of responsibility, foremost among them being Major Spencer Charles Ferguson, the Mayor. His deputy, Sir Benjamin Scott, had been mayor six times and would take over the role again when Ferguson went to war.

In addition to being the cathedral city of the 67-year-old Bishop of Carlisle, the Right Reverend William Diggle, Carlisle was also home to the Right Reverend Campbell West-Watson, the Bishop of Barrow, aged just 37. He had been appointed in 1909 at the age of 32, probably the youngest priest in modern times to achieve such a position. Another clergyman in the diocese who had a house in The Abbey was Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley, a vigorous man who, while he was serving as a vicar in Cumberland, had been instrumental in helping to found the National Trust; he was a great believer in charity and was skilled at getting people to contribute to causes. He was also a poet and regular contributor to the letters pages of the local press.

The many successful local businesses provided a potential pool of management and skilled leadership. Supported by the professionals with financial and legal knowledge, the city was well placed to manage a crisis. Joseph Buck, a manufacturer of flannels, Henry Campbell, a stock and insurance broker, Thomas Charlton, a retired architect, and the Carr family, of the biscuit and flour companies, were all to feature in the running of Carlisle and the war effort in the years to come. Others, whose positions were to thrust them into the limelight, included Nicol Campbell, the station superintendent of the Citadel Station and Dr Beard, Carlisle’s Medical Officer.

There were a number of prominent women too, including Miss Mabel Bardsley, daughter of the previous bishop, Mary Chance, married to Frederick a cotton manufacturer and much involved in temperance, voluntary and charity work. Miss Rosalind Henderson, a sprightly 65-year-old who was treasurer of the Charity Society. Lady Carlisle, who lived for much of the year at Brampton and was a noted member of the temperance movement and a supporter of women’s rights, Beatrice Morton, wife of James, was much involved in a number of projects during the war. These women emerged as key figures.

Local churches of all denominations and many clubs and societies played their part in helping those affected by the war. Not all was positive. The Chief Constable of Carlisle, Eric Herbert de Schmid and the headmaster of Carlisle Boys’Grammar School, Charles Padel, both influential figures, were among those who were to face personal challenges brought about by hatred of those believed to have German connections.

Further away, Lord Lonsdale of Lowther, near Penrith, was a notable member of the nobility with strong links to government. He was a great sportsman, supporter of hunting, both of foxes and otters, and donated the Lonsdale Belt for boxing. He was the first president of the Automobile Association which created its livery based on Lonsdale’s favourite colour, yellow. He established the Lonsdale Battalion of the Border Regiment which included many men from the city in its ranks and was an official on the Control Board which took over the breweries, pubs and off licenses in the city and surrounding area.

Carlisle became a county borough on 1 April 1914 which brought with it a greater set of responsibilities notably for education and more of the public services. This development was a source of pride, but also had teething problems, mainly to do with funding, which had to be disentangled from the accounts of the county, and was never fully resolved during the four years of conflict.

Tuberculosis was a killer and a TB dispensary opened in George Street in October 1914. Surgeries were held twice weekly in the afternoon. Dr Beard, the medical officer of health, quickly realised that those who had the disease and were still working could not get time off work to attend, so an evening clinic was provided. One hundred and twenty-four cases were notified between September and December 1914. The council agreed to pay for fifteen beds at the Blencathra Sanatorium to allow sufferers an opportunity to recuperate in fresh air. Building work to extend the sanatorium was delayed and the city had to take spaces at Meathop, near Grange-over-Sands. The treatments locally and at the sanatorium dealt only with those with symptoms of the disease. What the medical authorities were unable to do with the resources at their disposal was to advise family members and other contacts how to avoid catching the illness.

Voluntary organisations took on many tasks which are now the responsibility of local authorities or the health services. The City Dispensary was the oldest and provided an essential service to poorer families unable to afford the fees charged by doctors and who had not joined the new insurance services. In 1914 it dealt with 3,500 cases but the donations fell short of the expenditure and the dispensary accounts were in the red. One of the newest charities was The Council for Rescue and Prevention Work, set up in Carlisle in 1914 to ‘rescue’ women and girls who were in danger of immorality.

The Cumberland Infirmary was run by trustees and paid for by insurance or donations. The hospital had 134 beds, treating about 1,300 patients a year, plus about 4,000 out patients. The War Office requested thirty beds ready to allocate to wounded soldiers. This, the management committee concluded, would put great pressure on the facilities but they would endeavour to make provision. As the war started the number of charities increased and the population was constantly exhorted to donate money, gifts or make things to give to soldiers at home and abroad, or those just passing through the station, as well as to military families and refugees. Others contributed by joining committees to organise facilities or events, to undertake more long-term tasks, or to perform at concerts. It is to the credit of the citizens that many of them did contribute and the papers were conscientious in publishing long lists of the names of donors; many names featured frequently.

The council was also responsible for the provision of gas, electricity and water and many committee meetings were taken up with discussion of how best to improve the water supply, progress on the extension of the electricity works and the price of gas. Electricity had been installed as far as Scotby and the gas main reached as far as Great Corby. The poor quality of many of the roads had been a cause of complaint for some years and it was decided to replace the ageing granite setts on which metal cart wheels were noisy with a new material, tarmacadam. The police came under the control of the council and the Chief Constable was also the Chief Fire Officer. Equipment was primitive and the council purchased a new fire engine at the cost of £1,025, about £80,000 in 2013 values.

In the days before wireless and television, internet and email, the local papers were the main source of information. Carlisle had two newspapers, the Cumberland News and the Carlisle Journal. The News was a supporter of the Conservative Party; the Journal, the main source for this book, supported the Liberal viewpoint.

The local papers between 1914 and 1918 carried summaries of the progress of the war, lists of the volunteers signing up for duty and, later, the lists of those killed and wounded. They carried news of local battalions and were not afraid of publishing the gory details of conflicts and the effects of shells and bullets on individuals, though later censorship changed some of the styles. News of local matters, the happenings around schools, the work of the local councils, the response of businesses and individuals to the war were all carried. Church news, local hunting, fishing and farming matters, social notices and events remained to provide the ongoing rhythm of life beneath the dramas of the war and its impact.

CHAPTER 2

1914 July: Last days of normality

The Castle – Whitsun Hiring – Voluntary Aid Detachment – Red Cross – Government in London – The Irish Question – Territorial Association – Carlisle and Women’s Suffrage

Life in Carlisle in July 1914 was following its usual peacetime pattern. The presence of the depot of the Border Regiment in the Castle meant that the citizens were used to the presence of the army.

The Hirings, which happened twice a year at Whitsun and again in November, was the event where farmers and farm workers met to negotiate contracts for the next six months. It usually brought thousands of men and women into the city but there was concern in 1914 that there were few men looking for farm work. Other matters covered in the papers related to cuts in council budgets for the support of the poor and the consequent possibility of local unrest. There were inspections of the local Voluntary Aid Detachments (VAD) and the War Office announced an enquiry into the working and organisation of the VAD, especially into the difficulties of co-ordinating the local branches with regard to training and how they might work together if called into action. The VAD were to be important in providing support to the authorities particularly with the provision of refreshments for troops passing through Carlisle and in local hospitals.

In parallel with the VAD, the local Red Cross Associations, both men and women’s sections, were inspected and ways sought to make their potential contribution as effective as possible. They were to be mainly concerned with the establishment and running of local hospitals, should these be required.

On 14 July the Carlisle Journal reported a speech by Mr Asquith, the Prime Minister, in which he summarised the remaining government business:

‘The Government decided to wind up its session as early as possible in August and to start the new session in the early winter so that the Revenue Bill might be passed to allow the grants to local authorities to be made next year. The length of the session will depend on the negotiations regarding Home Rule.’

Irish Home Rule, to the exclusion of European tensions and events in Servia, as Serbia was then known, dominated the national news reports in both the Carlisle Journal and Cumberland News during July. The capture of 3,000 rifles smuggled into Dublin and the subsequent battle between the National Volunteers and the army was the lead item in the Journal on 28 July. King George V called a conference at Buckingham Palace in an attempt to resolve the matter but it ended in failure. Under a headline ‘WAR CLOUDS IN THE BALKANS’ the Journal reported:

‘The Balkans have taken the place of the Low Countries as the cockpit of Europe. The echoes of strife between the Balkan Allies and Turkey have hardly died away and Servia, which at the end of that war found itself at conflict with its ally Bulgaria, is now confronted with the prospect of war with Austria. The new complication arises from the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand and his consort.’

The quarterly meeting of the Territorial Association held on Saturday, 25 July was exercised by the problem of men displaying proficiency badges to which they had no right; the state of the drill halls in a number of towns, including Carlisle; the political difficulty of allowing a drill hall to be used for an anti-tariff meeting; organising a challenge trophy for reservists; and reporting the total strength of the Territorial units in Cumberland and Westmorland as being 2,427, below the possible strength of 2,863.

The Journal headlines on 31 July announced ‘WAR DECLARED, INVASION OF SERVIA’; ‘RUSSIAN PREPARATION FOR WAR’; ‘WIDE FINANCIAL PANIC, EXTRAORDINARY SLUMP IN PRICES; ‘AN ANXIOUS OUTLOOK’. On 1 August the Cumberland News described the bombardment of Belgrade as an ...