Gloucester in the Great War

By Derek Tait

When news of the war broke out in 1914, nothing could prepare the citizens of Gloucester for the changes that would envelop their city over the next four years.

The story of Gloucester in the First World War is both an interesting and intriguing one. The city played a key role in the deployment of troops to Northern Europe as well as supplying vital munitions. Local men responded keenly to recruitment drives and thousands of soldiers were billeted in the city before being sent off to fight the enemy overseas. The city also played a vital role caring for the many wounded soldiers who returned home from the front.

The effect of the war on Gloucester was great. By the end of the conflict, there wasn't a family in Gloucester who hadn't lost a son, father, nephew, uncle or brother. There were tremendous celebrations in the streets as the end of the war was announced but the effects of the war lasted for years to come.

This powerful account of a city that showed great courage and determination in a time of adversity ensures that Gloucester's people, who lived through the four intense years of conflict, are remembered for their immense contribution the war effort.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pen and Sword
• Release date: Jan 31, 2016
• ISBN: 9781473873131

Derek Tait

DEREK TAIT has written over a dozen books, most of them about his early childhood in Singapore or the area of Plymouth in which he lives. He is now a full-time writer, but previous jobs have included a photographer and a cartoonist. He now lives in Saltash Passage, Plymouth.

Book preview

Chapter One

1914 – Eager for a Fight

Rising tensions in Europe and the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo led to Austria-Hungary’s declaration of war on Serbia. This led to the Central Powers, which included Germany and Austria-Hungary, and the Allies, which included the British Empire, the French Republic and the Russian Empire, to declare war on each other, which led to the commencement of the First World War on 28 July 1914.

On 4 August, newspaper offices posted announcements in their windows stating that Britain had declared war on Germany.

People of foreign descent were quickly rounded up and detained. Anyone with a German-sounding accent soon came under suspicion of being a spy.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Ferdinand’s assassination in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914 led to Austria-Hungary’s declaration of war on Serbia, which ultimately led to the beginning of the First World War.

The railways were taken under government control under the Regulations of Forces Act of 1871. Local businesses were asked to supply motor vehicles for use by the army, and businesses in and around Gloucester were asked to supply horses.

Kitchener’s recruitment poster, ‘Your country needs you!’ A huge recruitment campaign encouraged young men to join-up. By January 1915, almost 1,000,000 men had enlisted. Pals battalions encouraged many to enlist and they ultimately provided enough men for three battalions.

A pre-war photo showing the 1st/6th Gloucesters on their way to Perham Down on the edge of Salisbury Plain.

On 6 August, HMS Amphion, a Devonport-based cruiser, became the first Royal Navy casualty of the war.

On the previous day, Amphion and the 3rd Flotilla received a report from a trawler that a ship had been spotted ‘throwing things overboard’. The trawler gave the ship’s position, and Amphion and the flotilla set off to investigate. Soon after, they spotted the minelayer SMS Königin Luise heading eastwards. Königin Luise was a German-requisitioned former Hamburg-Netherlands holiday ferry that had been converted into an auxiliary minelayer.

On the evening of 4 August, she had left Emden