Wendover Remembers – July 1918
July 1918 saw Germany’s final effort to break through on the Western Front. The Second Battle of the Marne took place on a 50-mile front near Rheims. Allied forces, including nine US divisions, counter-attacked and the German advance was stopped. They fell back to their Hindenburg Line. At Le Hamel, near Amiens, British and Australian troops made a successful “all-arms” attack using tactics that were to lead to victory in the following months. The former Tsar, Nicholas II, together with his wife and children, were murdered by the Bolsheviks. Honduras declared war on Germany.
Private Richard Horwood of the 1st Royal Marine Battalion, 63rd Royal Naval Division, died of wounds on the 5th July near Rouen, France. Before the war Richard, aged 40, lived with wife Annie at Beechwood Cottage, at the foot of Boddington Hill and worked as a poultry man. The 63rd Royal Naval Division, originally the 2nd Northumbrian Division, was formed in 1916 and became part of the British Army.
At home the school children continued to do all they could to help in the war effort, eggs were brought in for wounded soldiers and a sale of toys raised money for the Prisoner of War fund. The older boys and girls gave a display of Morris Dancing at Scrubwood and collected £1.17s for the Royal Bucks Hospital. Mr Molineux reported that one teacher and a few of the children were absent with influenza.
The Bucks Herald of 13 July 1918 reported the monthly meeting of the Parish Council. The chairman said that for the last ten years he had been advocating transferring [Wendover] to Aylesbury Rural District Council from the Council in High Wycombe. He had found travelling to Wycombe exceedingly inconvenient. He also spoke of the danger likely to result from heavy traffic passing along Paradise at too fast a rate, and mentioned that some of the houses were shaken very much by the heavy lorries. It was decided to ask the District Council to communicate with the military authorities as to the erection of warning signals and also to call the attention of the Director of Timber Supply to the subject. At the end of the month the Rural District Council Highways Committee recommended that notices should be placed at the top and bottom of Hale Road warning motorists of a dangerous corner.
The chairman of the Footpath Committee recommended that the owners of property in Dunsmore and Dobbins Lane should be asked to remove overgrowth obstructing the footpaths. This request prompted an angry response from a resident of Dunsmore who demanded to know who had reported the problem.
The local paper also reported that Miss D Harris, a lady land worker, was one of the representatives of Bucks in the recent march of the war workers, organised in connection with the silver wedding celebration of the King and Queen. It was an honour worth having for Miss Harris to have her place among the 3,000 war workers addressed by the King. Miss Harris is the daughter of Mr and Mrs W Harris of Chandos Place, Wendover, who have three sons serving with the forces.
Joseph Cripps of Wellhead, Wendover was summoned for having in his possession game and nets. P.S. Bryant said at 8.55 p.m. on June 23rd he saw defendant coming across Coombe Hill, Wendover, Noticing his bulky pockets and the condition of his clothing he searched him under the Poaching Prevention Act. Defendant had in his possession two rabbits and eight small nets. He also had a dog and a ferret. When questioned he stated that he kept the ferrets for work in France [to deal with the rats], and must get them something to eat. He sent 70 ferrets away last season and hoped to send a similar number this year. Cripps had been convicted of poaching in 1915 and was now ordered to pay 15s and the nets were forfeited.