100 years since the first two minute silence

A blog post by Zoe Farace and Antonia Fernandes, Special Collection Volunteers.

For the last 100 years, the end of the Great War (1914-1918) and later other major wars have been commemorated on what had been known as Armistice Day (when the war had formally ended) and is now called ‘Remembrance Day’.  Typically on this day, at the 11^th hour, a two minutes silence is held in order to show respect for the men and women who have challenged the enemy and  sacrificed their lives for their country.  The tradition has been maintained to this day and this year the Royal British Legion, who hold a Poppy Appeal every year, are encouraging people to put down their smart phones and log out of social media, as a way of showing respect this year.  It is clear that this act is the ultimate way of showing respect to those who fought and lost their lives in the plight for justice and safety in the world.  But where did this tradition begin?

Adrian Gregory’s book, “The Silence of Memory” gives a detailed explanation as to the origins of the two minutes silence. The decision to mark the first anniversary of the Armistice with a silence pause in the life of the nation was made very close to the date itself.  Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, who had been stationed in South Africa as the commissioner during First World War, suggested it to Lord Milner, a member of the War cabinet. Milner had observed in South Africa that every single day, around midday, work, talk and movement were suspended and they would take three minutes to ‘concentrate as one in thinking of those, the living and the dead, who had pledged and given themselves in all that they had believed in’(1).  The idea was accepted by the War Cabinet and approved by George V, with the announcement for it in all national newspapers the next day.  The idea for marking armistice was not to look back with sadness for the tragedy of the war but to remember those who died and continue to offer up their lives for the protection of country.

Cecil Harwood served in the Great War, and wrote about his experiences in a personal diary, which he later wrote up and submitted to John Burnett to be preserved in the Burnett Archive of Working Class Autobiographies. Harwood initially writes of his excitement at the prospect of serving and protecting his country, however once embroiled in the actualities of war comes to long for some sense of normality. To Harwood, normalcy and solace was found in taking a moment to remember his fallen soldiers as a mark of respect describing it as “one time I shall never forget […] The Padre was sent for and a short service was held over the bodies”.  Taking a short time to reflect on the war and those still fighting for the safety and protection of others was something that Harwood valued throughout the rest of his life, believing that to hear “their message of good will, it made one feel better [and] protected them from harm and prosper in their daily lives”. This is the embodiment of Remembrance Day, to take time to reflect and pause and be thankful for the peace that is currently enjoyed.

All in all, the importance of the two minutes silence is very clear.  It is a way to show our respect for those who have died fighting and to take a moment of recollection and reflection.  It is a long-held tradition, one that will likely be continued to observed.

To make an appointment to see Cecil Harwood’s autobiography, or any of the others, please contact Special Collections.

Bibliography

1. Gregory, A. (1994). The Silence of Memory: Armistice Day, 1919-46. (Oxford,Berg Publrs.), p9
2. Burnett Archive, 1:309 Cecil George Harwood ‘Down Memory Lane’

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Armistice centenary

Today we are commemorating 100 years since the signing of the Armistice that ended the First World War by launching our new topic guide to the war. This is intended to help students to find material from Special Collections relating to the war – do let us know if there is anything you would like to discover more about.

Some highlights from the guide are featured below, and there is also a chance to see them in person by visiting Special Collections (BANN 328) on Tuesday 13 November between 12 and 2pm. This event is free and open to everyone.

William Belcher – naval diaries

Serving in the navy between 1903 – 8 and 1914 – 19, Belcher was then an electrician from 1919 onwards. Much of the interest in his autobiography lies in the supporting documents that accompany his notebooks: his school certificates, shorthand qualifications and his naval career record. His autobiography is part of the Burnett Archive of Working Class Autobiographies (BURN 1:53)

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John Hammerton & Herbert Wrigley Wilson, ed. The Great War: the standard history of the all-Europe conflict (London: The Amalgamated Press, 1914-19).

The first volume of this work was published in 1914, and sets the tone with the first sentence: “The greatest war of modern times, and perhaps in the whole history of the human race, was begun by Germany using the crime of a schoolboy in Bosnia as her excuse” [Volume I, page 3]. The work claims to be “a standard history” but, written so soon after the individual events it narrates, cannot give a truly balanced view as there was no way for the authors to be in possession of all the facts surrounding them.

The great interest of this work lies in its immediacy. It shows what the general public in Britain knew about the war during the war, and what they were encouraged to think. The tone and content reflect the attitudes and social structure of the time, as when prominence is given in lists of casualties to those men who were related to peers. Naturally the text is full of patriotic language – chapter titles make frequent use of words such as “glorious” and “triumphant” – and admiration for British troops’ bravery and skill, and for the design of their ships, planes, and weapons; but recognition is made of the German forces as a formidable enemy with admirable qualities.

The volumes are, as the title-page indicates, “profusely illustrated”. There are maps and plans to show defences and strategy; photographs of events and of key people; diagrams of submarines; illustrated spreads on forces joining the war from overseas; and, most poignantly, drawings of battlefield scenes based on sketches sent by eyewitnesses.

As well as the narrative of the war itself, there are chapters on broader topics including “Influence of the war on English Literature” [volume XII], and “Marvels of the British Transport Service on the Western Front” [volume VIII], to address wider and longer-term issues.

This series is part of the Rare books and periodicals collection.

Through the Dardenelles

On the 26^th March 1915, J. T. Haskins was first informed of the mission that would earn him a Distinguished Service Medal. He worked as the leading Stoker on the E.14 submarine, the first submarine to steer through the Dardanelles to the Sea of Marmara and back again. They went through enemy subs, torpedoes, minefields just to get to there.

His diary (part of the Burnett Archive of Working Class Autobiographies) tracks the whole mission. The diary starts with him receiving orders “to prepare for long trip” all the way to the end of the mission and hearing about the Distinguished Service Medal.

The Dardanelles is a dangerous narrow strait in northwest Turkey that connects the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It separates Europe from Asia and, on a side note, also holds the site of ancient Troy. This mission was part of the Gallipoli Campaign of World War I. It was first conceived by Winston Churchill as a way of supplying the Russians through the Black Sea. In the same swoop Churchill intended to drive the Ottoman Empire out of the war. Unfortunately it was a loss.

The Campaign has now become one of the Ottoman Empire’s greatest victories and a major defeat for the Allied forces. Yet the success of Haskins’ Sub shows a glimmer of triumph for them leading Haskins to end his entry on the 19^th May 1915:

“I was with the E.14 through the Dardanelles”

When corpses fell from the Nottinghamshire sky

One of our autobiographies from the Burnett Archive  featured in the Independent’s series on A history of the First World War in 100 Moments. When corpses fell from the Nottinghamshire sky  is based on the account of Lottie Barker, who worked in a munitions factory in Beeston, Nottinghamshire during the war. She was one of the ‘Canary Girls’, who made shells in the factory and for whom repeated exposure to toxic chemicals turned their skin orange-yellow like a canary.

On the day of the explosion she wasn’t on shift, but was at home washing up, and felt the house move and saw a huge column of smoke. The explosion caused the loss of 134 lives, although the full extent wasn’t made clear at the time as the news was suppressed. Lottie’s account includes details of the aftermath of the explosion.

NHS 70th anniversary

Picture from the NHS7TEA party held on campus yesterday 

Today we’re celebrating the 70^th anniversary of the National Health Service by focussing on some items from our Special Collections that show how healthcare has changed over the last century. Our accounts include nursing in peacetime and at war, medical procedures and the arrival of antibiotics.

Brunel University itself has played its part in the development of healthcare, including helping design and test a hearing screening device to detect hearing impairments in babies in the 1970s, which was used at Hillingdon Hospital between 1980 and 2004 (when a national screening programme was introduced). Last year a new partnership was launched, the Brunel Partners Academic Centre for Health Sciences, a partnership between the university, Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, which aims to revolutionise the way health and social care is delivered.

Susan Frith was a nurse and midwife whose career spanned thirty years, between 1912 and 1942. Her personal diary covers both of the World Wars and leads up to the foundation of the NHS. She went to people’s homes and stayed with them, assisting at the births of babies and caring for those with long term health conditions or who were terminally ill. You can read more about her diary in our previous blog post celebrating International Nurses’ Day.

Jean Court’s autobiography relates her experience of family life in the 1920s. Her sister caught diphtheria when they were children, and was lucky to survive what was then a common childhood illness with a high death rate, but is now routinely vaccinated against. She also recounts experiences of her grandfather’s ill-health, particularly after he came to live with them to avoid being put in a geriatric hospital. You can find out more about Jean’s autobiography on the Writing Lives website.

Lorna Kite’s autobiography traces her experience as a nurse during the Second World War. She qualified a year before war broke out, and initially worked as a theatre sister at Millbank Military Hospital before going to France and working in casualty clearing stations, then joining hospital ships and going to Egypt. She describes medical procedures, such as removing a live shell from a Prisoner of War’s heart muscle and, in 1944, was a member of one of the first units to use penicillin.

Hilda Salusbury trained as a district nurse and midwife in Plaistow, East London. She describes her training and then first posts, including her day to day work and the poverty she saw in East London during the 1920s and 1930s.

You can see any of these autobiographies or our other collections by contacting Special Collections to arrange an appointment.

Burnett Archive
4 Susan Frith
2:188 Jean Court Living in the lane
4 L.E. Kite Mentioned in despatches: world war II seen through the eyes of a nurse
4 Hilda Salusbury Only yesterday

Explosion in a WWI munitions factory

100 years ago, on 1 July 1918, there was a devastating explosion in a munitions factory in Nottinghamshire, where shells were filled for use in trench warfare. The disaster killed 134 workers and injured many more. One of our autobiographies, part of the Burnett Archive of Working Class Autobiographies, contains an eye-witness account of the explosion.

The munitions factory had been set up in 1915 at Chilwell, which had good road and rail links, and supplied over half of the shells fired during the war, including most of those used at the Somme. Lottie Barker, the author of our autobiography, had joined the factory in April 1916 with a friend, Polly. They were known as ‘Canary Girls’ because the chemicals involved in the manufacture turned their skin yellow and their hair green.

The explosion was the biggest loss of life during a single explosion during the First World War but was downplayed at the time, less it lead to loss of morale. At the time it was only reported in the newspapers as “60 feared dead in Midlands factory explosion”. Most of the dead were buried in a mass grave in Attenborough without being named, and a memorial wasn’t erected for fifty years. The cause of the explosion was never made public.

Lottie had, fortunately, been at home doing the washing up when the explosion happened, and her autobiography describes the house shaking, and what she found when she ventured out to the factory.

You can find out more about Lottie Barker’s autobiography on the Writing Lives website and in this account in the Independent newspaper When corpses fell from the Nottinghamshire sky. There are further accounts of the canary girls in Edith Hall’s autobiography Canary girls and stockpots, also part of the Burnett Archive.

Burnett Archive
2:37 Lottie Barker ‘My life as I remember it, 1899-1920’
4 Edith Hall ‘Canary girls and stockpots’

50 objects 42: William Belcher’s Navy service

One of the Burnett collection of working-class autobiographies held at Brunel is that of William Belcher (1884 – 1961).  He served in the Navy 1903 – 8 and 1914-19, and was an electrician from 1919 onwards. Much of the interest in his autobiography lies in the supporting documents that accompany the notebooks: his school certificates, shorthand qualifications, and his naval career record.

Here are a selection of the documents in question, giving insights not just into Mr Belcher’s history but into the history of education and into the record-keeping of the Royal Navy.

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50 objects 11: World War One as it happened.

John Hammerton & Herbert Wrigley Wilson, ed. The Great War: the standard history of the all-Europe conflict (London: The Amalgamated Press, 1914-19).

The first volume of this work was published in 1914, and sets the tone with the first sentence: “The greatest war of modern times, and perhaps in the whole history of the human race, was begun by Germany using the crime of a schoolboy in Bosnia as her excuse” [Volume I, page 3]. The work claims to be “a standard history” but, written so soon after the individual events it narrates, cannot give a truly balanced view as there was no way for the authors to be in possession of all the facts surrounding them.

The great interest of this work lies in its immediacy. It shows what the general public in Britain knew about the war during the war, and what they were encouraged to think. The tone and content reflect the attitudes and social structure of the time, as when prominence is given in lists of casualties to those men who were related to peers. Naturally the text is full of patriotic language – chapter titles make frequent use of words such as “glorious” and “triumphant” – and admiration for British troops’ bravery and skill, and for the design of their ships, planes, and weapons; but recognition is made of the German forces as a formidable enemy with admirable qualities.

Title page from Volume I

The volumes are, as the title-page indicates, “profusely illustrated”. There are maps and plans to show defences and strategy; photographs of events and of key people; diagrams of submarines; illustrated spreads on forces joining the war from overseas; and, most poignantly, drawings of battlefield scenes based on sketches sent by eyewitnesses.

As well as the narrative of the war itself, there are chapters on broader topics including “Influence of the war on English Literature” [volume XII], and “Marvels of the British Transport Service on the Western Front” [volume VIII], to address wider and longer-term issues.

The twelfth and final volume, published in 1919, ends with a “roll of honour” detailing the numbers of men killed, wounded, and missing, with the numbers analysed in various ways; civilian casualties are estimated too, and a swift overview is given to show the range of men who died, and some of their talents and achievements in sports and professions.

The work that started with grandiose phrasing about “the greatest war” ends, fittingly, in tribute to those who bore the greatest cost: “To praise those who gave their lives for their country would be an impertinence, but they cannot be left entirely without a tribute of respect and thanks.” [volume XII, p. 600].

100 years ago today

Blog post by Kyra Bains, work experience student

I was with the E.14 through the Dardanelles

On the 26^th March 1915, J. T. Haskins was first informed of the mission that would earn him a Distinguished Service Medal. He worked as the leading Stoker on the E.14 submarine, the first submarine to steer through the Dardanelles to the Sea of Marmara and back again. They went through enemy subs, torpedoes, minefields just to get to there.

Here in Special Collections you can read part of his diary that tracks the whole mission. The diary starts with him receiving orders “to prepare for long trip” all the way to the end of the mission and hearing about the Distinguished Service Medal.

The Dardanelles is a dangerous narrow strait in northwest Turkey that connects the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It separates Europe from Asia and, on a side note, also holds the site of ancient Troy. This mission was part of the Gallipoli Campaign of World War I. It was first conceived by Winston Churchill as a way of supplying the Russians through the Black Sea. In the same swoop Churchill intended to drive the Ottoman Empire out of the war. Unfortunately it was a loss.

The Campaign has now become one of the Ottoman Empire’s greatest victories and a major defeat for the Allied forces. Yet the success of Haskins’ Sub shows a glimmer of triumph for them leading Haskins to end his entry on the 19^th May 1915:

“I was with the E.14 through the Dardanelles”

Haskins’ account is just one of the collection of working class autobiographies housed in Special Collections. We have other blog posts about the autobiographies and some about the First World War too.

#WW1archives

Several of our collections cover the period of the First World War, and we have already had a series of blog posts highlighting some of them. You can find out more on our blog, and keep checking back as we post more updates.

Railways of the Great War

Are you looking forward to watching Railways of the Great War with Michael Portillo tonight on BBC2? Railways were crucial to the war effort, keeping the Western Front supplied with munitions and food, as well as transporting home wounded and dying men.

You can find out more about the railways of the First World War in Special Collections. Our resources include railway timetables from the period, indicating the effect the war was having on railway movements.

We also have a range of books published around the time on various aspects of the war and railways.

The rise of rail-power by Edwin Pratt looks at the railways between 1833 and 1914 and shows how they were able to meet the enormous strain placed on them by the outbreak of war.

 

 

 

 

Pratt’s earlier book, German v. British railways, published in 1907 compares the situation of the railways in Germany and Britain, whilst Darroch’s Deeds of a great railway (1920) tells the story of the London and North-Western Railway Company during the First World War.

Pratt’s two volume British railways and the Great War (1921) is a comprehensive history of all aspects of British railways during the First World War.

Find out more about First World War resources in Special Collections by reading our blog posts tagged First World War. Over the next few months we’ll be highlighting a range of our sources in more detail.

When corpses fell from the Nottinghamshire sky…

One of our autobiographies from the Burnett Archive recently featured in the Independent’s series on A history of the First World War in 100 Moments. When corpses fell from the Nottinghamshire sky  is based on the account of Lottie Barker, who worked in a munitions factory in Beeston, Nottinghamshire during the war. She was one of the ‘Canary Girls’, who made shells in the factory and for whom repeated exposure to toxic chemicals turned their skin orange-yellow like a canary.

On the day of the explosion she wasn’t on shift, but was at home washing up, and felt the house move and saw a huge column of smoke. The explosion caused the loss of 134 lives, although the full extent wasn’t made clear at the time as the news was suppressed. Lottie’s account includes details of the aftermath of the explosion.

Look out over the next few months for more accounts of the First World War from Special Collections.