RETURN TO LOOKING BACK WITH MALCOLM TUCKER MAIN PAGE
At 11 o’clock on November 11 1918 silence fell like a gentle mist on the battlefields of Europe. After 1561 days of conflict The Great War was over. It was a war which had seen more soldiers die than ever before with the average number of lives lost per day 5509. The signing of the armistace was naturally received with manifestations of the utmost enthusiasm. In most places work was suspended for the day and cheering crowds thronged the streets with King George V touring London and addressing the people.
In Timsbury relief at peace must have been tinged with sadness at the number of villagers who had lost their lives. Three more residents were killed in 1918. Private Joseph Cox had only been in France for 5 weeks when news was received of his death. He had been sub-postmaster in Timsbury and clerk to the Parish Council as well as assistant overseer for the Parish and organist at Tabor Church. His father Henry Cox was a member of the Clutton Board of Guardians and the Rural District Council. Private Stanley Ashley was just 23 when he was killed, the last Timsbury man to lose his life in World War One. The third casualty in 1918 was Wilfred Goold whose body was never found. He is commemorated on the Soissons Memorial, a Memorial to the 4000 officers and men from the U.K. who died during the Battles of the Aisne and the Marne in 1918 and who have no known grave.
Private T.H. Swansbury was awarded the Military Medal for conspicuous bravery under heavy fire. He had suffered from gas and shell shock but had since recovered. One of his brothers Private Oliver Swansbury had been killed on September 6 1915.
The 1918 equivilent of Ofsted took place at Timsbury School in January when there was a visit from the H. M. Inspector. The Head at the time was Mr. Arnold who must have been very pleased with the report which praised the excellent behaviour of the children who it said were interested in their lessons. Arithmetic, pencil drawings and wood carving were all said to be well taught and “a word of praise is due for the careful and neatly written exercises”.
The last of a series of 7 meetings arranged by the Frome Divisional Labour Party in support of its candidate Captain Edward Gill was held in the Temperance Hall with Oliver Lewis presiding. Mr. Lewis said that they had all been at work building up their trade unions and now they had the opportunity of going into the political field and securing for the workers what was rightfully their own. He saw the forthcoming General Election as a fight between Capital and Labour.
Under the auspices of Timsbury and District Committee a very successful sports’ carnival took place in aid of Bath RUH and Paulton Memorial Hospital. There was an excellent programme of sports, a fancy dress procession headed by the Peasedown Brass Band, tug-of-war and an ambulance competition between the Dunkerton and Camerton Collieries’ teams which resulted in a tie. There were also a number of side shows.
The previous year Somerset had produced 24,800 tons of potatoes and consumed 41,800 tons – a deficit of 17,000. As a result Lord Rhondda and Mr Prothero appealed to every man who had a farm, a garden or allotment to plant more potatoes and make the county self-supporting.
There was understandably little sport taking place in 1918 but a football match was held at Timsbury between the home side and Clutton in aid of those serving in the army and navy. It was followed in the evening by a concert in the Church House with the rector, Rev. C.R. Mead-King presiding. At the AGM of Timsbury Athletic later in the year it was decided to form a club side for the coming season and to play a series of friendly matches.