Charlie Chaplin at Huddersfield Picturedrome

From the Holme Valley Express, February 12th, 1916. 

HUDDERSFIELD PICTUREDROME.

Mr. Harvey Vernon, the enterprising manager of the Huddersfield Picturedrome, has been able to secure Charlie Chaplin for this week.  The film is “Charlie Shanghaied,” and in this production the popular humorist is seen in the most humorous situations in his role as a recruiter of a ship’s crew.  He himself gets shanghaied!  The film has been on view throughout this week, and no doubt will command considerable attention today.  “Charlie” had the support this week of several other sparkling productions.

[The film can now be seen on YouTube.

The Picturedrome was on Buxton Road, now New Street,  An article in the Huddersfield Examiner in 2005 says that the Picturedrome opened in 1910, and burned down in 1949; the Curzon Cinema was built on the same site and opened in 1950.]

Socks and Mufflers for Kent Regiments

From the Folkestone, Hythe, Sandgate & Cheriton Herald, 12th February 1916.

SOCKS AND MUFFLERS FOR THE COUNTY REGIMENT.

An appeal has been made to the Association of Men of Kent and Kentish Men to assist in promptly providing a supply of socks and mufflers for the men of our county regiments, viz.:—“The Buffs” and Queen's Own Royal West Kents now at the front.  It is found that a very frequent change of dry warm socks is a preventive of the effects of frost-bite.  The County Association is confident that the want of our brave men has only to be known, for every woman in and connected with Kent to do her best to meet it.

A special appeal is made to principals and mistresses of all girls' colleges and schools to assist. Where it is not possible to raise funds locally for the purchase of wool, application should be made to the Secretary.

Parcels for the county regiments should be addressed as per the directions at foot of this appeal.  All correspondence on the matter to be addressed to Mr. Henry Thompson, Secretary of the Association of Men of Kent and Kentish Men, 7, Victoria-street, Westminster S.W.  Contributions towards the purchase of wool, etc., will be gratefully received and allocated.

Ladies are invited to form working parties in their respective districts, and are asked to communicate with Mr. Thompson, who will forward them any instructions and printed matter necessary.  Suggested sizes of socks, of which several thousand pairs are required at once, are 10 to 12 inches, and mufflers about 60 inches by 10.  Balaclava caps are also required.

[The Men of Kent/Kentish Men names reflect a division of the county of Kent into East Kent and West Kent.  (Don't ask me why.)      

Clearly the  Association of Men of Kent and Kentish Men wanted to supply comforts to local men, and I doubt that they would be happy with the general pool of comforts that Sir Edward Ward was setting up.  And whereas Sir Edward was asking at this time only for mufflers and mittens, the Association thinks (probably correctly) that socks are more needed.]    

A Scheme for Pooling Comforts

From The Times, 11th February 1916.

"POOLED COMFORTS."

A NEW SCHEME OF DISTRIBUTION.

A new scheme for collecting and distributing comforts for the armies in the field has been drawn up by Sir E. Ward, Director-General of Voluntary Organizations, approved by the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, and sanctioned by the War Office.

The office of the Director-General of Voluntary Organizations, it may be recalled, was created with the object of co-ordinating and directing all voluntary effort throughout the United Kingdom in connexion with the supply of mufflers, mittens, and other articles of clothing and comfort the troops, whether at the front or in the military hospitals.  In order to secure cooperation and prevent overlapping and waste county and borough associations were formed to link up the various societies, guilds, groups of workers, and individuals engaged in making such articles. Standard patterns were supplied, finished articles were inspected by experts, material for certain articles were supplied free of charge, and free transport was provided for articles requisitioned by the Director-General.  Special arrangements were made in the case of Queen Mary's Needlework Guild, the Red Cross Society, and Order of St. John, war hospital supply depots unattached to any central organization, and regimental associations.

It has been found, after careful inquiries, made by a representative of the department in France, that the rapid movement of troops from place to place and sometimes from one theatre of war to another has made increasingly difficult the problem of securing prompt delivery of consignments earmarked for particular units.  To meet this difficulty, it is proposed under the new scheme that all gifts forwarded through the department shall be consigned "for the benefit of the troops generally," and shall be sent to Military Forwarding Offices Overseas for dispatch to the distributing points. Commanding officers in the field will make known the needs of their units to Assistant Military Forwarding Officers at these points, and the gifts will then be sent to the soldiers' billets for distribution among the men.  The Assistant Military Forwarding Officers will keep the Director-General fully informed of the quantities each unit receives, and will requisition articles for which there may be a big demand.  The Director-General will thus be in a position to advise the local or regimental associations of the number and nature of articles issued to each unit, and to requisition articles in their place.

In short, while a regimental or county association will have no guarantee that the actual comforts which it supplies will go to the regiment or other unit in which it is particularly interested, it will have an assurance that similar articles are supplied from the general "pool" to that unit more promptly than under the old system and that the actual articles which it is providing will replenish the store thus depleted.

[This is the next stage in Sir Edward Ward's attempts to control the provision of comforts by voluntary groups.  It seems as though he is trying to organise the supply of comforts is a similar way to the supply of uniforms and other necessities by the War Office.  But it's evident that many voluntary groups round the country still wanted to supply their own men rather than having their output simply disappear into a general pool - see tomorrow's post, for instance.]    

Wartime Hair Fashions

From the Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 9th February 1916.

LONG HAIR AT A DISCOUNT.

It is exceptional today to meet a young man wearing his hair long.  The present fashion is undoubtedly due to the war.  Young men feel that they cannot afford to indulge in the luxury of long hair in these days, as they render themselves liable to be taken for cranks and funks.  The idea now is to have a “county crop,” the hair clipped so close that it gives a man a bullet-headed appearance.  At the same time, the moustache is clipped close, to give it the semblance of bristling, and the whole physiognomy, in consequence, to become fierce and martial.

BEAUTY'S AID.

There are no more curling-tongs to be had in England.  Henceforth the great army of women whose hair is straight and who cannot afford time to go periodically to a barber must make nightly use of those patent curlers which are only a degree less unsightly than the curl papers of Dickens's day.  This is a serious matter in these days of Zeppelin raids, when beauty knows that on any night she may have to make a sudden unprepared appearance.  One may search even London for hours and not find the smallest pair of decorative tongs.

[It is only recently that hair tongs were for straightening hair, rather than curling it.  Electrically-heated tongs are also relatively new - I remember my mother heating curling tongs over a gas burner on the cooker, in an attempt to make my hair curl when I was a little girl.  The curls never lasted for more than a few hours, though I do have a school photograph of me with beautifully tidy hair curled at the ends and with a hair-ribbon.]

Changing Traffic on the Railways

From the Aberdeen Express, 9th February 1916.

FEWER TRAINS AND MORE CROWDED CARRIAGES.

New Railway Era.

Before the war the railway passenger always thought himself the most important traffic of the railways.  Since the war he has found that he "plays second fiddle" to goods.  He did so even before the war, but he did not realise it.  In 1913, the year before the war, the passenger receipts of the railways of the United Kingdom were £47,000,000, and the goods receipts £67,000,000.  The passengers coaches numbered 79,000: the goods waggons 759,000.

Since the war goods traffic has enormously increased, as the impatient passenger has often lengthy opportunity to realise.  Shortage of ships has been another factor in adding to goods congestion, causing delay at sidings and docks of trucks that cannot be unloaded.

Changed Conditions.

Life on the railways is changed in many ways.  Trains are fewer, shorter, and more crowded.  Half the passengers of any long-distance train seem always to be soldiers.  The railway companies to-day make the ordinary passenger as comfortable as they can manage, but no longer as of old do they bid fiercely for his custom by posters of golden-haired girls sitting by super-azure seas or of old gentlemen and ladies jumping high in the air under the vivifying influence of ozone.

The romance of the railways has moved from the passenger and tourist departments to the goods department. The goods departments are taking strange freight.  One night at a London terminus an armoured motorcar slept peacefully on a goods waggon.  It was home to go in hospital, and was suffering with bruises and superficial wounds.  Nobody looked at it, not even the new railway “mates,” the women carriage cleaners,  the women ticket-collectors, the women booking-clerks.  The revolution is becoming familiar.

Restrictions on Sugar Consumption

From the Aberdeen Express, 9th February 1916.

War Thrift for Sweet-Mouthed.

Aberdeen Confectioners and the Prospect.

The proposed restriction of the importation of sugar mentioned in the statement by the Royal Commission on Sugar Supply brings the necessity for the practice of war economy into the homes of the mass of the people much more directly than any other proposal of a restrictive nature that has hitherto been mooted.  Pulp for paper manufacture, tobacco, fruit are all very important articles, but sugar, like bread, is one of the prime necessities of life.  Naturally, therefore, there is more than a passing interest being taken in the Sugar Commission's report.

Inquiries in Aberdeen bear out the fact that seems to be generally entertained that the large increase in the price of sugar since the outbreak of war has had little effect upon the demand.  Some of the retailers have fixed a maximum quantity to be supplied to their customers at any one order, but it is the case that any quantity of sugar can be purchased either wholesale or retail.

Regulation of Sales.

The head of a wholesale grocery firm in Aberdeen stated to an "Express" representative that any appreciable restriction on sugar imports would necessitate the regulation of the sales, while it would almost certainly mean a gradual further increase in the price if the ordinary laws of supply and command were to operate.

A leading retail grocer said that while the restriction of imports seemed to be intend to curtail the use of sweetstuffs that might be regarded as luxuries, such as sweets, candies, toffees, caramels, chocolates, and so on, it was probably also intended to prevent waste at the breakfast, dinner, and tea tables.  Sugar for household use was as necessary as bread, and any further increase of the price would inflict a hardship on many people who were just now exercising every economy and finding enough to do to make ends meet.  It was, however, quite true, and every grocer knew it, that sugar was not so thriftily used in many households as might be expected for the price paid for it.
One family might use twice as much sugar as another family of the same size.  This was very commonly observed by grocers.  It was probably due to allowing children to help themselves at the table, as the young folks were exceedingly sweet-mouthed and would put spoonful after spoonful of sugar into a cup of tea if they were not being closely observed by their parents.

Partial to Jams.

The youngsters were also the chief consumers of jams, and a more general use of butter or margarine would result in a large economy in the consumpt of sugar.

The proposed restriction seems to be intended more to reduce the enormous consumpt of confectionery.  It is apparent to anybody passing along the streets that a large section of the shopkeepers depend for their livelihood upon the trade in confections.  The women and children are probably the best customers the confectioners have, just as the men are the mainstay of the tobacconists.  The amount of money spent by youngsters in what old-fashioned people who use the Doric somewhat contemptuously describe as "smacherie," if it could be totalled would probably "stagger humanity."  So long, however, as pennies and ha’pennies come the way of the young folk, so surely will they be invested in some toothsome sweet.

Confectionery Boom.

An interview with a leading Aberdeen wholesale manufacturing confectioner confirms the prevalent opinion that you cannot make people economise in the use of things they like if they have the money to buy them.  He says that practically since the outbreak of war the demand for sweets, instead of decreasing, has increased by a long way, notwithstanding that the prices have gone up considerably.  This is simply due to people having more money to buy a thing they are fond of.  The increased demand is particularly noticeable in centres where there are large numbers of soldiers stationed, and where there is plenty of work.  The manufacturing confectioners were kept fully occupied and could dispose of all they could produce, even although prices for certain classes of confectionery had doubled.  Roughly speaking, sugar had jumped from 15s 6d per cwt. to about 36s since war broke out.  Boiled sugar confectionery that was sold at 4d per lb. before the war is being sold now at 8d.  Other kinds that were 8d are retailed at 1s. Chocolates retailed at 1s are now 1s 4d per lb., and so on.
If the Government were to seriously restrict the supply of sugar to confectionery manufacturers it would throw many thousands of workers out of employment, and a complete restriction would spell ruin; manufacturers would have to close up.

Rice for Children.

Some doctors hold that the reduction in the supply of sugar would mean improved health for many people who invite indigestion by over-sweetening tea or coffee, many women in particular destroying their appetite for more necessary food by eating too many sweets.  Sugar is undoubtedly an admirably foodstuff for children and young active people, but it is not indispensable, as its place can be taken by a little more fat or starchy foods.

[Would anyone now say that sugar is "one of the prime necessities of life"?   It is now mostly regarded as an unnecessary part of the diet, and generally bad for us.  Interesting that even the doctors quoted who say that too much sugar is bad, only give the reason that it destroys the appetite for more nutritious food.  Nothing at all about the effect on teeth. 

'Doric' means the dialect of North-East Scotland.    'Smacherie'  is this context seem to mean an assortment of confectionery. 

For interpretation of the prices, e.g. 15s 6d, see A Note on Prices.]

Agricultural Work for Women

From the Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 3rd February 1916.

EMPLOYMENT FOR WOMEN ON THE LAND.

14,000 START WORK ON FARMS DURING WAR.

SPECIAL UNIFORM TO BE WORN BY VOLUNTEERS.

Women on the land are, in future, to wear a specially designed uniform, officially approved of by the Board of Agriculture, which will be as distinctive and as important as the familiar Voluntary Aid Detachment outfit.

This announcement was made yesterday by Miss La Mothe, of the Board of Trade, at a conference of men and women interested in girl labour in the land.

From 12,000 to 14,000 women had gone on to the land since the outbreak of war, she said, and now that the farmers were won over, their next task was to see they got the right type of girl.  That was going to be the making or marring of the scheme.  Two of the most successful farm hands were tailoresses from London.  They were now doing splendid work on an estate in Sussex.  Each girl got £l a week and a joint cottage, with other perquisites, and both said that they would not go back under any consideration to the old town life.

“As milkers and stockwomen,” said Miss La Mothe, “girls beat the men hollow.  A cow that has always been milked by a woman is always better tempered and gives more milk.”

WOMEN TO THE RESCUE.

Mr. F. Floud, of the Board of Agriculture, said that over 200,000 men engaged in agriculture were now in the army.  Still more would have to go, and three men would have to do the work of five unless women came to the rescue.  The admirable way in which women were doing their work had a great educational influence on the farmers.

There was a great future in poultry farming, went on Mr. Floud.  He knew of only one man in this country who was making poultry farming, as distinct from any other branch of farm work, pay.
Miss Rogers, of the National Political League, said that her organisation had succeeded in placing practically all the suitable girls who had applied to them, and further applications from women willing to go on the land were wanted.

Miss Macqueen, representing the Women's Farm and Garden Union, explained the herb growing scheme, by which it was hoped to encourage country dwellers to grow those herbs used for medicinal purposes for which we had had to depend on Germany in the past.