How to Knit a New Heel into a Worn Sock or Stocking

From Weldon’s Ladies’ Journal, January 1918.

How to Knit a New Heel into a Worn Sock or Stocking.

First procure wool to match the sock in colour and texture, and choose four steel needles which will give a similar tension in knitting.

Unravel the worn heel, being careful not to unpick a single stitch of the leg below the instep level.  Pick up on two knitting needles the stitches across sole of foot from one side of instep to the other to prevent them dropping. Now pick up stitches for the heel flap on one needle.  Join in the wool and knit to the last stitch on the heel needle, and slip one stitch of the side needle on to heel needle, and take these two together. 

Turn and purl to last stitch of heel needle, and as before slip one off from the side needle and take two together.  Do this at end of each row until the heel flap is long enough.  Count the stitches left at the centre of the sole of the sock, put them on one needle, then turn the heel by the same method used in the original knitting.  There should then be left on the heel needle as many stitches as were counted at the sole.  Hold the two needles together and take a wool needle and graft the heel and foot together.  All ends of wool, both old and new, must be darned in very neatly and securely, especially near the instep portions, and at the end of the grafting.

[I'm not an expert sock knitter, so this makes no sense to me.  It does imply that there was one standard way of knitting heels at the time, so if you had knitted lots of socks in that way, you might be able to follow the instructions.]

Wool required for Sock Knitters

From The Times, January 7th 1918.

KNITTERS FOR THE ARMY.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.

Sir,----Will you allow me through your paper to thank most sincerely those who so generously responded to my appeal for funds to provide wool for my knitters who are making socks for our soldiers?  We have sent out 800 pairs since last August and have over 400 still to go out, but I have no more wool left now, and socks are ever more and more urgently needed.  My knitters, all but one, are voluntary, and many of them working women; they are keen to help, and do splendid work, the blind knitter, to whom I alluded before, having now completed 200 pairs of socks.  May I earnestly appeal for more funds to carry on this most necessary work?  Wool is getting dearer and dearer.  I have the chance to procure a large quantity of excellent wool at a moderate price if only funds are forthcoming at once.  The worst weather is still to come, and socks will be needed in ever-increasing quantities.
I am, Sir, yours faithfully,
EVELYN TEMPLETOWN.
10, Onslow-crescent, S.W.7, Jan 4.

Please Knit Socks

From the Brecon County Times, 4th October 1917

WAR CLOTHING DEPOT-
SOCKS!  PLEASE!  SOCKS!

Miss deWinton hopes all Breconshire knitters will at once get out their pins and begin to knit socks.  There is plenty of wool at the depot.  Please make socks 13 inches in leg when finished and 11 inches foot. 

Miss deWinton hears on all sides that socks and again socks, hand-knitted, are the real need of our Battalions of South Wales Borderers in France.

3,000 men all want socks. 

So please! Knit Socks! And please don't waste the wool -- it is very expensive!

An Appeal To Working Parties

From the Western Times, July, 1917.

AN APPEAL TO WORKING PARTIES.

To the Editor of the "Western Times."

Sir,—Socks and mufflers, but socks especially, will be required in as large or even larger numbers than before, for our troops at the front this autumn and winter. May I, therefore, urge the many working parties, and individual helpers, who have so generously helped the Mayoress's Depot in the past, to continue, and, if possible, increase their efforts? We now have many Devon battalions at the front, and in addition we receive urgent requests for bales from the Director-General of Voluntary Organisations. I am sure it is hardly necessary to remind working parties that the Mayoress's Depot is permitted to supply wool from the War Office at cost price. It would greatly help us if we could hear from affiliated working parties the approximate quantities of wool they would wish reserved for them during the coming months. I shall be happy to hear from any one desiring information on the matter.

Yours faithfully,
J. KIRK G. OWEN, Mayoress.
The Guildhall, Exeter, July 18, 1917. 

Sweaters In Summer

From The Times, April 5th 1917

SWEATERS IN SUMMER. 

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES. 

Sir, — Not less than 1,000 letters lave reached me lately asking what comforts the writers shall knit for the men during the summer.  Will you give me room to answer?

Well, I have been asked by authority to give your readers a clear lead as to what is wanted, and I know I ask a hard-thing in doing it.  It seems that last year, we over-estimated the interval between the last cold night of spring and the first chills of autumn, and under-estimated the time required to get the things across the world in these days.  What is wanted is a vast store of warm comforts by—don't be startled—the end of July.  I am told that heavy knitting throughout the summer is contrary to custom and comfort.  Well, if so, we must dispense with both.  We can't compete with the men in those things whose daily story is our grief and pride abroad, but we can do what we don't want to do, and stick out a long, dull, un-timely job at home.

I think so gravely of what I have written above that I had almost forgotten to say how grateful I am for the continued kindness shown this venture during the past winter.  I was obliged to ask your readers for 10,000 sweaters in a month, and they came; and 10,000 mufflers to accompany them, and there they were.  The total number of sweaters received here to date is 38,106, and of supplementary comforts 34,223.  I feel especially grateful to the men in hospital who have been mindful of their brothers in the field, to the kind maids in many households who have given lavishly of their perhaps not too lavish spare time, and to two venerable ladies, pioneers of all good effort for soldier and sailor, who have found time and inclination to help this venture of to-day on behalf of the men they have served for half a century.

Part of your kindness is to keep the sudatorium smiling.  The palm for ingenuity is surely borne by the lady who left the germ of a muffler and a ball of wool in a railway waiting room with a message appended asking the next stranded lady to add a few inches to the work—whence a capital muffler arrived here in due season.  But all my sympathy goes out to the self-sacrifice of those male relatives commandeered for the hateful process of trying on.  Listen to this: "My father's head, which is very small and quite bald, seldom comes through the neck."  Oh, Sir, for these too infrequent triumphs my good wishes, and for the dreadful protracted occultations my sincere sympathy and the assurance that we now "pick up 76 round the neck."  But all round there has been a marked improvement in knitting.  My remarks on snakes' nightgowns did produce, per contra, a small crop of elephants' cummerbunds, but the real thing is now normal.

To recur to the one thing of importance.  With a restricted Press, it will. greatly help if ladies will make a point of passing the word along that sweaters, mufflers, helmets, mittens, and socks will be wanted in very large quantities by August 1, and that they should be sent, when the time draws near, either to the Voluntary Organizations Depôts throughout the country, or to the D.G.V.O.’s Depôt at 45, Horseferry-road, S.W., or to me as below.  I have plenty of patterns here if ladies would write for them, but I am afraid all the wool I have left will be wanted for men knitting in hospital.

Yours faithfully,

JOHN PENOYRE. 

8. King’s Bench Walk, Inner Temple, E.C.4.

April 4.

Knitting Fortnight In Dundee

From the Dundee Courier, 29th November 1916.

KNITTING FORTNIGHT IN DUNDEE.

At yesterday meeting of the Dundee Women's War Relief Fund Committee, held at the Town House, Miss Kynoch presided....... Requisitions for the past week—all of which were passed—were received from: — The D.G.V.O. [Director General of Voluntary Organisations] for 370 pairs of sox, 40 shirts, 16 helmets, 3 waistcoats, and one pair of gloves: the Washing and Mending Committee, for 6 shirts; Mrs Miller, Red Roofs, Broughty Ferry, for 50 pairs of mitts and 50 mufflers for the R.N.D. [Royal Naval Division]; Lieutenant Gordon. for 200 pairs of sox for the A. and S. [Argyll and Sutherland] Highlanders, B.E.F. [British Expeditionary Force]: Lieutenant Lowson, R.N.R. [Royal Naval Reserve], for 25 pairs each of mitts and sox, and 25 mufflers for the men of H.M.S. Heroic.

Miss Duncanson read a letter from the D.G.V.O. referring to the great need for winter comforts for the men at the front, and suggesting that a knitting week or fortnight should be arranged.  On the motion of Mrs Steven (Barnhill), it was decided that the first fortnight of December, beginning on the Monday, be set apart as knitting fortnight, and that the Central Office be supplied with four spindles of wool to begin with for giving out to workers in the district.  ....Miss Duncanson intimated that the number of articles sent to the Central Office during the past week was 1055, making the grand total 152,816, while Mrs Kerr stated that the balance at the Central Office was £139 l6s 9d.

Replenishing the Comforts Pool

From the Halifax Courier, 6th May 1916.

“Courier” Comforts Fund
APPEAL FROM ANOTHER FUND.

W.R. Territorial Headquarters, York, May 4. 

Dear, Sir,—I am directed by Lord Scarborough to inform you that he has received a letter from the Director General of Voluntary Organisation stating that 1,057 pairs of socks and 114 shirts have been issued from their comforts “pool” in France to the 9th Bat. Duke of Wellington's W.R.R.  As this Committee have an arrangement with the above organisation to replace all articles issued from the “Pool” to West Riding Units, Lord Scarborough would be glad of any assistance your organisation can give towards replenishing the “pool.”—Yours faithfully,

W. MILDREN, Captain, for Chairman

West Riding War Fund Committee. 

This “Courier” Fund received the approval of the Assistant Director-General of Voluntary Organisations because it caters on set lines, so as not to clash with the Mayoresses’ Red Cross Fund in Halifax, or any other of the official organisations.  Those lines do not, as we have often said, include shirts or knitted goods, and we cannot depart from our understanding.  To this effect we have written Lord Scarborough.  Socks, shirts, or other knitted goods sent us are used among the prisoners and isolated soldiers, those who have not funds to fall back upon.  We are at the moment wanting 600 pairs of socks and as many handkerchiefs, and are hoping that lady readers all over the neighbourhood will set to work to supply these.

[This report shows Sir Edward Ward's scheme for a central comforts pool in action, but only partly working, because the West Riding War Fund Committee apparently did not know which local funds they should approach for new supplies of socks and shirts.  Presumably the workings of the scheme became smoother in time.] 

Comforts for Halifax Lads Abroad.

From the Halifax  Courier, 22nd April 1916.

Our Lads Abroad. 

To-day there are 5,024 on “Courier” Comforts Fund—soldiers at the front, sailors on the sea, prisoners in Germany, and this district's men wounded or invalided.  We refer, of course, apart from the six local regiments (which we deal with in their entirety), to braves whose addresses have been sent us.  There may be some still not receiving, but if we are not informed of them how can we deal with them?

Latterly the classes of comforts asked for have turned in the direction of food or smoking material almost exclusively.  From innumerable officers and men, and letters, we learn that Government now keeps a very sharp eye on every man's outfit, and does him well.  This, for instance, is his kit: — 2 tunics, 2 pairs of trousers, great coat, cap, 2 towels, 3 shirts, 2 pairs of pants, muffler, 2 pairs of boots. 1 pair of shoes, 3 pairs of stockings.  The latter commodity is that which, issues apart, is most in demand, especially in bad weather periods.

The change that has come over the men's needs, therefore, makes our money go further, but we still have not enough of it, or we would send oftener to every man, as well as to every battalion more frequently.  The public should remember that we buy on the most favourable terms, and they can rely upon our judgment, because we know best the needs, through being in constant touch with those at the front.  ....

April 20, 1916. 

To Major A. Ellam,
2nd Duke of Wellington's Regt.
Dear Sir,
In the name of the inhabitants of this neighbourhood, it is a pleasure to advise you of the placing of orders for these goods by the “Halifax Courier” Comforts Fund, in accordance with your letter received on the 18th, in which you asked us to calculate on the basis of 900 men:—

3 cwts, of Fig Roll Biscuits.
2 cwts. of Fruit Biscuits.
3 cwts. of Ginger Snap Biscuits,
1,008 slabs of Chocolate.
900 tablets of Toilet Soap:
864 Shaving Sticks.
936 Writing Pads.
3,000 Cigarettes for the Officers.
33,000 Cigarettes for the Men.
100 lbs. Tobacco for the Men.
240 Pipes for the Men. 

As you were advised, £120 was set apart for this further consignment of comforts for your heroic regiment.  The actual expenditure is £116 11s. 9d., and we have still rail carriage to Southampton to pay.  All the goods have been bought on specially favourable lines.

We are also sending, direct from our office, a collection of socks, shirts, handkerchiefs, mittens, gloves, body belts, —  being the contributions of thoughtful ladies, and one is pleased to note this proof that many loving fingers keep busy upon wearables for the comfort of the braves.  Will you please, as a whole, accept this further contribution in token of this neighbourhood's gratitude to you all, and may God speed you in your undertaking.—Very sincerely yours,
THE FUND MANAGER.

...
CRICKET MATERIAL FOR THE SOLDIERS.
Liberal Club, Greetland, April 19.
Dear Sir, —
We are sending you some cricket tackle for the Lads, and shall be very pleased if it will be of any use to you.  On behalf of the Club, yours, &c.  N. Rayner.

(The gift consists of a bag, 2 bats, ball, wickets and bails, stumping gloves, and a pair of pads.  We heartily thank the givers.)
.....
A BILLIARD ITEM.
We have also to thank Mr. Frank Greenwood, Shakespeare hotel, Halifax, for a set of bonzaline billiard balls.  On Tuesday we intimated that a soldier mentioned a table behind the line that could not be used because of want of balls.  Lovers of the game will realise what joy this gift will give.  Our correspondent was Pte. N. Atkin, 1930, Royal Horse Guards, and we shall take steps to secure that the kind donor shall hear direct from those who receive his handsome gift.

...

['cwt' is the abbreviation for 'hundredweight', 112 pounds or 50.8 kg.  A lot of biscuits.

Sending out the billiard balls, shows how static the Western Front had become.  People at home thought that it was worth sending out the billiard balls to make a billiard table behind the lines usable, because it was expected that there would be British troops based in the area for the foreseeable future.] 

Parcels to the Front and Prisoners of War

From the Falkirk Herald, 25th March 1916.

PARCELS FOR OUR SOLDIERS AT THE FRONT.

It is gratifying to know that the scheme for the dispatch of parcels to our soldiers, under the supervision of the Falkirk and District Choral Union, has been largely taken advantage of this week.  The number of parcels handled was 166 (double the number of last week), and the combined weight was over half a ton.  These were despatched in 48 sacks to the various units.  The saving in postages to the senders amounts to £8 10s, and this alone ought to encourage those sending to their friends to take full advantage of the scheme.  Work parties are specially invited to send their parcels.

SOCKS FOR PRISONERS OF WAR.

The committee of the East Stirlingshire Prisoners of War Fund are in the habit of sending supplies of socks to the prisoners of war in Germany belonging to East Stirlingshire.  Many people have given their services voluntarily in knitting these socks with supplies of wool furnished by the committee, and as a further quantity of socks will be required immediately, the hon. secretary, Mr Wm. J. Gibson, 96 West Bridge Street, Falkirk, will be glad to have the names and addresses of those who will be willing to help in this way. 

[Two examples of the activities going on around the country to support their local men.  I like all the statistics in the first one - they did like to quote precise figures for everything.  Many of the parcels would have been sent by friends and family to individual men, but the encouragement for work parties to send out their parcels by the same route suggests that Sir Edward Ward was not making much headway in Falkirk.  His plan was that comforts should be sent to a central depot and then distributed as needed, so that sending out parcels directly to units at the Front should not have been necessary.]    

The Need for Socks

From the Chelmsford Chronicle, 24th March 1916.

SOCKS FOR ESSEX SOLDIERS.

The Hon. Mrs. Alwyne Greville, writing from the Essex County Red Cross and Essex Regt. Comfort Fund Depôt, 84 High Street, Chelmsford, says that last month over 1,300 pairs of socks were sent out to the Front, and now she is requiring urgently 2,000 pairs for the 10th Batt., the 1/5th Essex, and the Divisional Ammunition Column.  Any socks sent to the above address will be most gratefully accepted.

From the Burnley News, 25th March 1916.

IN NEED OF SOCKS.

Several letters from members of the Accrington and Burnley Howitzer Brigade have been received this week, stating that as they wrote one of their batteries was going into action.  One of the writers states that the "Howitzer" men are badly in need of socks, and that there is scarcely a good pair of socks left in the whole brigade.  It is surely only necessary to mention this need, to secure that they receive all they want.  It is one of the glories of the war that our women folk of all ages have never wearied in making comforts for the boys fighting our battles.  

[These appeals for socks - and an earlier appeal published a few days previously in the Western Times - suggest that the need for socks was genuine, and not being catered for by the War Office.  Sir Edward Ward, who had been in charge of co-ordinating the supply of 'comforts' since October, doesn't seem to have caught up yet with it.]  

Socks needed

From the Western Times, 18th March 1916.

SOCKS, SOCKS

More Supplies Wanted for the Devon Battalions

CAPT. G. D. ROBERTS'S NOTE

Will working parties and private helpers kindly note that the supply of socks at the Mayoress of Exeter's Depot has entirely run out?  Many bales of socks have lately been sent to the fighting fronts for Devonians, especially to the Devon Regiment Battalions, and letters of thanks from officers, which from time to time have been quoted in these columns have shown how much these woollens have been appreciated.  Socks, in fact, are welcomed at the Front more than all other articles of clothing.  Any man back from the trenches will tell one that.  It is essential therefore that the Depot's stock should replenished as soon as possible.

Here is a letter received yesterday from the respected and popular Exonian, Capt. G. D. Roberts, of the 8th Devons:

On our return from the trenches on --, I received your parcel containing the boxing gloves, four footballs and slippers.  They will all be most acceptable.  The boxing gloves have already been used, and I hope the footballs will be soon, when we get a little further back; at present we are too close to the guns to be able to indulge in such luxuries as a game of football.  I am putting the slippers on one side, and will issue them as required to men with sore or frost-bitten feet, to whom they will prove a God-send.  Thank you again very much indeed.  All the men of "D" Company join me in this expression of thanks.

[A surprising mixture of comforts.  I imagine that Captain Roberts had asked for the boxing gloves, footballs and slippers - it would have been very odd to send such a collection of things unsolicited.] 

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.]    

1,600 Pairs of Socks Wanted

From the Halifax Courier, 15th January 1916.

1,600 Pairs of Socks Wanted.

FOCUSSING THOUGHT ON LOCAL REGIMENTS.

The Necessity for District Co-ordination.

The 8th Duke of Wellington's Regiment, in which are some 800 local men, is receiving the anxious consideration of the "Courier" Comforts Fund.  As soon as we can muster enough things for them, a consignment will be dispatched.  And how, if rumour be true, they must need all the aid we can render them.  They have been so isolated, said one Halifax mother’s son yesterday, that they could get little to eat, and many of them have gone pitifully thin.  Owing to their remote location. and the difficulty of reaching them with certainty, we were officially advised not to send them Xmas goods.  And, instead of £100, we have come to feel that £150 would be little enough to spend on them, and as we understand the Regiment has not been supplied from any source outside Government, we respectfully intimate a wish to send out to them, besides some other comforts to the value stated, 2 pairs of socks for each man, and as many shirts as can be got together in the next few days.  Ladies and sympathisers are invited to act quickly please: we can, of course, give them a few days in which to bring in their contributions.

This is the list, and the order of other regiments to be supplied with comforts from the Fund (our phases of comforts only):—

5th Battery, 2nd West Riding Brigade.
2nd W.R.R., Duke of Wellington's.
1/4th   ,,   ,,   ,,   ,,   ,,   ,,   ,,
10th   ,,   ,,   ,,   ,,   ,,   ,,   ,,
9th   ,,   ,,   ,,   ,,   ,,   ,,   ,,
8th and 9th Cavalry Field Ambulance. 

Every week as the state of the Fund will allow:—

Over 1,000 isolated sailors and soldiers.
180 of the neighbourhood's prisoners. 

These latter rely solely upon this Fund so that we do not draw any line as to the nature of the comforts we send them.

We have only one further word to offer—will all Red Cross and similar societies, as well as working parties, assist in making the various consignments fully representative of the neighbourhood, seeing the Fund is catering for each unit completely, and not to individuals.  We are officially advised that this is the best way, and have been asked to induce local societies to send goods only through the two local channels —the Mayoress’s Committee Wards End, or the “Courier” Fund.

[The 8th Battalion of the West Riding Regiment (aka the Duke of Wellington's Regiment) had been raised in Halifax as part of Kitchener's New Army, back in 1914.  They had been in Gallipoli from August 1915, until they were withdrawn in December, (see here for the WW1 record of the regiment).  At this point in 1916, the same site says that they were at Imbros, which seems to have been the base for the Expeditionary Force to the eastern Mediterranean, and so they would have been able to write home and supplies of comforts could reach them.  'If rumour be true' presumably refers to the fact that the Gallipoli campaign was pretty much a disaster for the Allies.

I don't know what 'Wards End' means, in connection with the Mayoress's Committee.]     

Comforts for Bedfordshire Soldiers

From the Bedfordshire Times and Independent, 3rd December 1915. 

COMFORTS FOR SOLDIERS.

MEETING OF LADY AMPTHILL’S COMMITTEE.

A meeting of the Committee of Ladies to provide comforts for the Regular Battalions and Special Reserves of the Bedfordshire Regiment, was held at the Shire Hall on Saturday morning.  Lady Ampthill was in the chair, and there were present [several other ladies], Colonel Tilly, Hon. Treasurer, and Miss Tilly, Assistant Secretary.

A letter was received from the officer commanding the 147th Company of Cheshire Engineers, stating that there were 15 Bedfordshire men in that regiment, and asking for comforts to be supplied to them. Considerable discussion arose on this problem as it was considered that the fund was subscribed for the benefit of the Bedfordshire Regiments and each county was looking after its own regiment.

A letter from Major Poyntz, Officer Commanding the 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, asked for a supply of tobacco, cigarettes, curry powder, tinder lighters, handkerchiefs, bootlaces, mouth-organs, candles, safety matches, footballs, and cocoa.

Lady Ampthill remarked that the War Office stated that there were nine million pairs of socks ready for distribution to the troops and she thought some steps should be taken to ascertain why the Bedfordshire Regiment needed socks.
....
The question arose as to whether anything should be done by this Committee for the various Bedfordshire Battalions of Kitchener's Army.  It was felt that this was a small county and not over rich, and it was stated that the 6th and 7th battalions were practically all Hertfordshire men.  At Hitchin and elsewhere much good work was being done to provide their men with comforts.
....
Lady Ampthill stated that the children of one school at Wilden had made 54 pairs of socks, and thought that was extraordinarily good.
Col. Tilly said there was a letter from the Director of Education stating that the children in the Schools under the County Education Committee were engaged in making a number of garments for the men of the Bedfordshire Regiment. A consignment of 278 pairs of socks, 265 pairs of mittens, and 265 scarves had already left his office.
The Committee expressed much satisfaction.

[This is a cut-down version of the original report.  Lady Ampthill's committee had evidently been set up to support the Regiment at the start of the war, when it consisted only of the battalions of the Regular Army and the Territorials.   It was unable to cope with the vast expansion of the Army, and hence of the Bedfordshire Regiment.  There are  obvious inconsistencies in their decisions - not supporting the Bedfordshire men in the Cheshire Engineers, because a Cheshire fund should provide for them, but also not supporting the 6th and 7th Battalions because they were mostly not Bedfordshire men.  

Many of the things asked for by Major Poyntz are. as usual, hardly luxuries - candles and matches, bootlaces, handkerchiefs.   And if no-one was supplying these things to the 6th and 7th Battalions, how were they managing?   

From Lady Ampthill's remark about 9 million pairs of socks, I assume that Major Poyntz or some other officer had also asked for socks.  She is confused (as I am) by the statements from the War Office saying that there was an adequate supply of socks, and the  requests from officers, claiming the opposite.]     

Sister Susie, Send Some Socks

From Woman's Own, 27th November 1915.

Text:  

Sister Susie, send some Socks
To save the soldiers' soles.
Some you sent some months ago
Are now reduced to holes.
Send them quickly, Susan darling,
Use the Auto-Knitter, So that someone's son or sweetheart
Gets them all the quicker.

The AUTO-KNITTER knits a pair of socks or stockings in less than 30 minutes.  Experience and distance immaterial.  Write for full particulars of our offer whereby you may earn another £1 a week and war bonus.  Enclose 1d. stamp for postage.

["Sister Susie" first appeared in a popular song of 1914 - the lyrics are given here.  Since then she had become a shorthand way of referring to the women who were making comforts for the troops.]  

Army Winter Kit

From The Western Times,  23rd November 1915.

ARMY WINTER KIT

—

Warmer Clothes for the Kilted Troops

The coming of winter has found the War Office Department whose duty it is to clothe the Army fully prepared with supplies of warm clothing for the protection of the troops against the rigours of winter warfare.  The following is a list of the apparel provided by the military authorities for each soldier at the front:  Winter service cap, waterproof cover for cap, cap comforter, body belt, woollen vest and drawers, shirt, cardigan waistcoat, tunic and trousers, fur or leather (flannel lined) jacket, great-coat, waterproof cape, fingerless snow gloves, woollen gloves, socks, puttees, and boots.

In addition, gum boots reaching to the top of the thigh are provided for men actually in the trenches.  The special needs of the kilted regiments have not been overlooked, and auxiliary warm clothing is provided for them.

The authorised scale of equipment, we are informed, allows two shirts and four pairs of socks for each man.  From time to time complaints reach this country that men in this or that battalion are in want of socks and shirts, and appeals for these articles or money for purchasing them are advertised.  It is stated on good authority that there is no real necessity for such appeal, as ample Government supplies are available to meet all demands made through the proper channels.  Mufflers and mittens, however, are not a “Government supply,” and the making, purchase, and collection of them is a field in which the generosity and industry of the public will be warmly welcomed.

[There was a continuing confusion in the newspapers about what 'comforts' the men at the Front need.  The official War Office line was that only mufflers and mittens were needed, in the way of clothing,  and only because the War Office had decided not to supply these, and to leave then to the knitters at home.  But at the same time there were many letters and other appeals in the papers asking for socks, which seem to be well-founded - several officers at the Front write to say that 'you can never have too many socks'. ]    

Nothing Like Hand-Knitted Socks

From Woman's Own, 6th November 1915.

Text: 
NOTHING LIKE HAND-KNITTED SOCKS FOR WEAR AND COMFORT.  Make them for our soldiers at the front from J. & J. BALDWINS 5-PLY WHITE HEATHER SCOTCH FINGERING WOOL on the fine recipe given in their booklet No. 17 -- "Knitted Comforts for Men on Land and Sea," post free for 2½d. on application to -- J. & J. BALDWIN & Partners Ltd., HALIFAX, Eng.

DO YOU WANT a £1 A WEEK and WAR BONUS?
Reliable people will be provided with profitable home work on AUTO-KNITTERS by knitting War Socks.  Write for full particulars, enclosing 1d. stamp for postage.
The Auto-Knitter Hosiery Co. Ltd.,... LEICESTER.

Life in a British Internment Camp in Holland

From The Times, 3rd November 1915.

LIFE IN H.M.S. TIMBERTOWN.

BRITISH INTERNED IN HOLLAND.

CAMP AMENITIES.

(FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.)

AMSTERDAM.

I have just returned from visiting the men of the Royal Naval Brigade interned at Groningen.  They are entering on their second year of confinement with a rigorous and healthy camp life well organised.

All the north-eastern part of Holland is a bleak and rather forbidding country at this time of year, interminably flat, with patches of cultivated land alternating with wide stretches of heather dotted with small pools of dark, peaty water.  The camp, H.M.S. Timbertown, is on the immediate outskirts of the town of Groningen, a cluster of great black-and-white barrack-like wooden huts, easily accessible from the town on one side and no less exposed to the bitter winds which, at this time of year, sweep the open country, on the other.

Abundance of keen, hard air, however, never did healthy men any harm; and 10 miles of good route-marching a day, from 9 a.m. to noon, six days in the week, make excellent medicine.  So the men are extremely fit.  The sick list varies from one-half to three-quarters of 1 per cent., and a large proportion of the cases are the result of injuries on the football field.

Football is, indeed, next to route-marching the chief preoccupation of the camp.  In a competition promoted by the Groninger Dagblad, in which five Dutch teams took part as well as three teams representing the various battalions of the Brigade, the latter had practically to fight it out among themselves, Hawke Battalion (which had already knocked out Collingwood) beating Benbow in the final tie after a thrilling game by a rather lucky 1—0.  The question of international supremacy being thus satisfactorily settled, the Brigade is now engrossed in an inter-company league series of its own.

WE'RE ALL RIGHT!

There are, of course, grumblers and “slackers,” as there must be anywhere in any party of 1,500 men; and these write letters home telling of their miserable plight and of the inadequacy of their food.  These letters sometimes find their way into print and annoy the rest of the camp even more than they do the Dutch authorities.  The food is not inadequate, and the men are more comfortable and on the whole better off — except for the consciousness that they are prisoners — than are our new soldiers on Salisbury Plain.  So far from demanding sympathy, the camp takes pride in its independence and self-sufficingness.  Parcels of “comforts” and other gifts from friends outside to individuals are a private matter and are undoubtedly always welcome; but for the camp itself, as a unit, it has nothing to ask of England.  Old books or newspapers for its library and reading-rooms are acceptable; but, beyond that, its only appeal to people at home is: —“Keep your money and help for the men in the firing line.  We’re all right!”

On every side, indeed, one sees evidence of the robustness of the camp organization.  It is spread before you in the wide strip of flower garden, all the work of “interned talent” which at this season, when the perennials are being taken in under glass for the winter, is still gay and gives Timbertown at first glance rather the appearance of a large summer pleasure camp.  If you open a door at random in one of the long ranges of huts you may come —as I did— on a rehearsal of the “Timbertown Follies,” under stage-manager Signalmen Fred Penley, or (as I also did) on one of Mrs. Oakley’s knitting classes, with a dozen members of the Brigade profoundly immersed, behind barricades of khaki and Navy blue wool, in knitting socks for the men at the front or in the Fleet.  Or you may find yourself in the bootmaker's shop, in the petty officer’s billiard room, in the great recreation room at one end of which is the Church, in the well-equipped gymnasium or in the offices of the Camp News, a daily typewritten, manifolded broadsheet, and Camp Magazine, a monthly illustrated periodical which has now issued its seventh number.
Then there are the Operatic Society, with a Gilbert and Sullivan repertoire; the dramatic club, which has given A Pair of Spectacles elsewhere than at the camp with tumultuous success; the Timbertown Orchestra and the brass and banjo-and-mandoline bands, and there are the wood-working shops, where surprisingly good work is done and the various "firms" (as any four or five work-men who associate themselves together style themselves) are kept profitably busy on orders for the picture frames, jewel boxes, and other knick-knacks which they make, of oak or satinwood, and which will in the future be prized as souvenirs of the days when British soldiers were interned in Holland during the Great War.  Above all, perhaps, there is the canteen—“dry,” of course —which, since it was taken over from the local contractor, has produced the chief part of the funds necessary to run the various organizations which cannot be made self-supporting.

KINDNESS OF THE DUTCH.

The University of Groningen has generously thrown all its lectures open to members of the Brigade who care to attend.  There are numerous classes at the camp for teaching languages and so forth as well as frequent lectures; and the Royal Society of Arts and London Chamber of Commerce have both made arrangements for examinations to be held at Timbertown, at which successful candidates will be awarded the appropriate certificates.  The Government of Holland has, moreover, permitted men to go from the camp to take regular employment elsewhere, provided that in doing so they do not compete with native labour.  A few men already have regular work in Groningen, and a request, which will probably be granted, has just been received for 100 men to go to Rotterdam.  In these cases a portion of the men's wages is given them weekly while the rest is paid to the Dutch War Office, there to accumulate until their liberation.

From all the foregoing it will be seen how well the camp has found itself.  The contrast with the early days of last winter —days of depression and unorganized monotony in crowded quarters before the present huts were built— is most striking.  For that contrast credit is chiefly due to Commodore Wilfred Henderson, who has the confidence and respect not only of the Camp but, what is no less important, of the Dutch authorities.  That the men’s lives can be other than limited and more or less dull and harassed with regrets and longings is, of course, impossible.  It is at most but making the best of a bad situation.  But that best could not be nearly so good without the most helpful kindness on the part of the authorities and the friendliness of the Dutch population of the neighbourhood.


[Holland was neutral in the First World War, and men of the Royal Naval Brigade who had retreated into the Netherlands were interned there for the duration of the war, along with Belgians and Germans (though different nationalities were in different camps).  I have included this article mainly because of the mention of knitting socks, but also because it is an aspect of the war that seems little known.]    

American Knitting Tea at Milnsbridge

From the Huddersfield Examiner, 8th October 1915.

COLNE VALLEY TERRITORIALS.

SUCCESSFUL AMERICAN KNITTING TEA AT MILNSBRIDGE.

Promoted by the Golcar and Milnsbridge Committee for providing comforts for the Colne Valley Territorials, a very successful “American knitting tea” was held at the Milnsbridge Drill Hall on Thursday afternoon.  The tea was given by Mrs Thos. Hirst, Mrs. Edgar Sykes, and Mrs. J. A. Smith, and was very largely attended.  Each person was asked to take an article value 1s., and also to buy an article of the same value.  There was a good response to the appeal, and the total proceeds of the sale and tea amounted to £22 3s. 1d.  Selections of music were given by an efficient orchestra, comprising the Misses Blanche Hirst, Dora Nuttall, M. Woodhead, G. Beaumont, and Mrs. W. J. Gledhill (pianist).  Songs were contributed by Miss Dibdin, of the Harrison-Frewin Opera Company, which is performing this week at the Huddersfield Theatre Royal, Miss Lawton, and Miss Walker, with Mrs. Gledhill as accompanist.

During the proceedings Mrs. Rothery, wife of Major W. U. Rothery, made an interesting statement of the year’s work.

Mrs. Rothery said it was exactly one year since they held the first meeting in that hall, when they had only a few ladies from Golcar and Milnsbridge.  It was the beginning of a big and splendid effort, and she was very proud and thankful for all that had been done.  She could assure them that the boys who were out in Belgium risking and often giving their lives for them were most thankful to receive the parcels of socks and shirts which were sent out from the depot.  They sent over 100 pairs of socks every week, and between 40 and 50 shirts.  She was constantly receiving letters to say how very glad the boys were to have them.  They represented two half-companies of men, and Captain Taylor, who was over here last week, told her how they looked forward to receiving the socks and shirts.  He said they could not have too many.  She had also received a letter from her husband that morning in which he said they were afraid they would have to be out there through the winter, and would need mittens or gloves, helmets, and scarves.  She knew there was a lot ready to go which would be sent off as soon as possible.

Their first meeting was held on October 22nd, 1914, and the tea on that occasion realised £1 1s. 3d.  Since then they had grown a lot, and had held nearly twenty teas.  They found it advisable to stop the meetings for a few weeks during the hot weather and holiday time, but they did not stop working.  She thought that everybody had worked splendidly.  One woman whom she went to see had lost her only son, who was in their company.  The woman was knitting, and with tears in her eyes she said, “He would not wish me to stop working: the others will need the socks.” She (Mrs. Rothery) thought that while their women had that splendid spirit the work would go on as long as it was needed.

They had sent from that hall 90 helmets, 371 scarves, 169 pairs of cuffs, 27 body belts, 2 rugs, 175 shirts, and 1,171 pairs of socks.  She was very glad of that splendid result, and heartily thanked everybody who had helped.  Some of them had knitted until they could hardly hold the needles.  They had collected, given and made the really magnificent sum of £400.  She hoped they would go on, as the cry was for “more and more.” ....

[I don't know exactly what constitutes an "American knitting tea" - perhaps the 'bring-and-buy' element.

I am sure that Mrs Rothery was right in saying that the items they had sent to the Colne Valley Territorials were gratefully received, and needed, but the War Office evidently felt that this sort of activity needed to be regulated.  The Times report here said that too many ladies were making "socks and shirts, which were a Government issue, with the result that there were millions too many".  You would expect that groups like this must have felt very annoyed at being told that they had wasted their time on making things that weren't needed, though there is no hint of that in Mrs. Rothery's speech.  But she is suggesting that for the coming winter, they should make "mittens or gloves, helmets, and scarves" - which is perhaps influenced by Sir Edward Ward's call for mittens and mufflers.]

Sowerby Bridge Lady Knits Socks For Three Wars

From the Halifax Courier, October 2nd 1915 

SOWERBY BRIDGE LADY'S RECORD.

KNITS SOCKS FOR THREE WARS.

CRIMEAN HARDSHIPS RECALLED.

It is doubtful if there are many ladies in this district who can boast of a finer record than that set up by Mrs. J. Moore, Gate Head, Hollins-lane, Hill Top, Sowerby Bridge, who, on Monday, celebrated her 86th birthday.  She is now knitting her 33rd pair of socks for the soldiers; for the men who took part in the South African war she knit 12 pairs and during the Crimean war she knit over 20 pairs and 6 scarves.  Day by day she industriously plies her needles with the sole object of providing some warm footwear for the lads in the trenches, and, as she says, “doing her little bit.”  Mrs. Moore is a beautiful knitter.  Some soldiers who have received her gifts have sent the old lady kind notes of appreciation and extended good wishes for her welfare.  These simple messages from the front are highly prized by the recipient.
In many respects; Mrs. Moore is a remarkable lady, her years hanging lightly upon her shoulders.  Bright, alert and vigorous she is

 AN OPTIMIST TO THE VERY CORE.

She possesses a wonderful memory, being able to recall dates and events of long ago without any trouble, is quite clever at repartee, and is troubled with few physical infirmities.  “I go to bed early,” she told the writer, “and if I cannot sleep in the morning I get up and knit for a while and then lie down again.”  Several times per week, when the weather is favourable, Mrs. Moore goes out to visit friends and thinks nothing about travelling alone a few miles by car or train.  It is interesting to hear her tell of her youthful days, “the good old days” as they are sometimes named.  Fully appreciating the difficult times through which the nation is now passing, Mrs. Moore is hard on the pessimists and croakers about the excessive high price of food stuffs, and reminds them that during the Crimean war sugar, “like sand,” was 8d. per lb., tea “like chopped hay,” was 11d. per ¼lb., and

FLOUR WAS 5/6 PER STONE.

In those days, she emphasised, the people were content with very plain fare and they were no worse for it.  She remembers the making of the railway from Sowerby Bridge to Luddenden Foot and walked through the tunnel on the west side of Sowerby Bridge before any rolling stock passed through; she is also proud of the fact that she went through on the first train, which was composed of ordinary goods trucks.  Of the rowdy scenes which followed the introduction of power-driven machinery into northern factories, known as the Luddite riots, she has vivid recollections.  She was working in New Bank, Halifax, at the time, and walked daily to her work from Sowerby Bridge.  When the plug drawers from Lancashire arrived in Halifax they found the mills guarded by the soldiers.  There was a hot skirmish between the parties in New Bank and Mrs. Moore tells of one native being shot dead in his own doorway.
The old lady still remembers, by name, the local residents who went out to the Crimean war.  A batch of nine, all old school companions, lost their lives and a memorial stone for these was erected in St. Peter's Churchyard, Sowerby.  The cost, she says, was borne by a penny subscription.  Other local incidents, such as the celebration of the coronation of Queen Victoria, the visit to Halifax of the Prince of Wales (Edward VII), the old Sunday School Jubilees, etc., she chats about quite freely.
Born at

HARPER ROYD, NORLAND,

her childhood days were spent on a farm, hence she did not go to a factory until she was 13.  For a few hours per day she used to attend an old dame school, in Back-lane, Sowerby, but before going she had to help to milk the cows and prepare the dinner.  The old school dame could not write but she taught her pupils how to knit, sew and read. Since then Mrs. Moore has had several vocations, including a period of 26 years, along with the late Mr. Moore as caretaker and servant at White Windows.  Questioned as to the alleged ghost story which is associated with that old Sowerby mansion, Mrs. Moore laughed at the idea, declaring that she did not believe in such phantasms.  “I have slept there many a time alone and never seen anything. I say them that gets to t’ better shop likes too well to come back and them that gets to t’ war shop they sticks to ’em.”
In her old age she is a keen reader, and seldom misses the “Courier.”  Since she was 70 she has read the Bible from cover to cover and can accurately quote large passages from the “old book” and give chapter and verse for numerous texts.  The youngest of a family of seven, Mrs. Moore has been married twice, had seven children. 4 grand-children and 2 great grand-children.  She is in receipt of the old age pension and is highly proud of the fact. Many will wish her hearty greetings upon her birthday.