Rainham at War in 1918

As the war entered its fourth year and the people of Rainham continued their fund raising activities for the cause, Reverend Tamplin gave a lecture entitled ‘War in the Air’ in the Church Hall, while children at the Church of England School gave their subscription to the War Charity Fund to help blinded soldiers and sailors.

In January the boy scouts collected waste paper and metal in a house to house collection to raise funds for the Hospital Supply Guild and for the 1^st Rainham Troop of the Boy Scouts. At the end of February a well-attended concert organised by the 2/5^th company Kent Fortress took place at the Council School followed by a whist drive and dance.

It wasn’t long before more announcements were made about casualties and deaths at the front with 24 deaths in 1918, the most recorded from Rainham in a single year of the conflict.

Fred Swan from Ivy Street died when his ship ‘Raglan’ was sunk by German ships ‘Breslau’ and ‘Goeben’ in the Dardanelles Straits. Swan perished with the rest of the crew. Meanwhile, Archibald Rayner from Longley Road won a commission in the City of London Regiment and went to France where he was twice wounded. He returned to England and attended Magdalen College, Oxford where he passed the officer cadet course. Others were honoured for their bravery like Private Reg Barrett from Ivy Street aged 25 of the Lancers, mentioned in despatches for gallantry at Bourlan Wood in France. He spent six hours under heavy shell fire rescuing wounded men. He had already received the Military Medal after the Battle of the Somme. In February Sergeant John Reeves aged 21 from William Street and serving in the Buffs also received the Military Medal for bravery.

In March the funeral of Rainham artilleryman Albert Hadlow aged 22 from Pudding Lane took place after he had died of a wasting disease caused by being gassed in France. A full military funeral took place at St Margaret’s Church. A gun carriage brought his coffin draped with the Union Jack to the church while members of his regiment formed an escort. Later in April several Rainham soldiers were reported missing. These included Thomas Mattocks from Wakeley Road of the Royal Fusiliers Machine Gun Section, Corporal Job Barden of London Road and Sapper John Poynter of Wakeley Road. Private Albert Kitney of the Buffs from Pump Lane and Frank Perry, son of Reverend F. E. Perry of Rainham Congregational Church were also reported missing, but news later revealed that they had been taken prisoner of war.

Casualties continued to rise in May when Cecil Bowra aged 20 from Station Road, attached to the East Surrey Regiment died. He and a comrade were killed by a German shell in France just 16 days after Bowra had arrived from England. At about the same time the military funeral of Leonard Paul aged 29 from Ivy Street took place in Rainham after he had died from the effects of being gassed. Lance Corporal Alwyn Randall of Lower Rainham also suffered being gassed and entered hospital critically ill but survived.

People of Rainham got a surprise in June when a military balloon descended over Moor Street and landed in a field. Afterwards people learnt that the balloon had been forced to land because of a shortage of ballast. Lieutenant Hepworth of the RAF who had piloted the balloon packed it up with help from local residents then continued his journey to Hurlingham by train from Rainham railway station. The event caused considerable local interest with many people converging on the area to watch. During June news also revealed that 1,661 war savings certificates and war bonds had been taken out in Rainham which demonstrated the success of the scheme introduced the previous year.

While the conflict continued events still took place in the village. On August 14th the Rainham War Hospital Supply Guild Garden Fete took place on the Parsonage Garden. Mrs Selby, commandant of the 3^rd Queen’s Regiment opened the event which about 1,500 people attended. Parties of wounded soldiers and sailors attended as guests. Mrs Selby gave a speech followed by a parade of 50 young people in fancy dress while children danced around a maypole. The band of the Queen’s Regiment played music throughout the afternoon. Activities included donkey rides, a concert, blindfold cricket and a dolly pram parade. Sideshows included an art gallery in a tent which attracted many people and stalls displayed fruit and flowers, fancy work, cakes and slippers. During the evening Rainham Fire Brigade gave a drill demonstration. The takings for the fete amounted to over £150.

Brothers Ernest and Fred Wellard from Bredhurst Road who served in the Merchant Navy had a narrow escape in September when a German submarine torpedoed their vessel off the West coast of Ireland. They were in the water for 2½ hours before help arrived. Although they were saved 53 other men died. This incident turned out to be the third time that they had experienced being torpedoed during the war but they survived.

As the war reached a climax more casualties were announced. On September 21^st Private John Bolton of William Street serving in the Royal Sussex Regiment died of his wounds in hospital after serving 2½ years in France. Sapper William Sellen aged 21 of the Royal Engineers died in Palestine. Archie Mattocks a sergeant in the Buffs got severely wounded while in action. He later developed pneumonia and became dangerously ill.

Towards the end of the year many Rainham residents became ill and six died when an influenza epidemic hit the area. The Church of England School in Station Road had to close for a week due to the absence of many teachers who were suffering from the sickness. This led to the cancellation of various events in the village but attention temporarily diverted away from this with news that the war had finally ended which brought a feeling of great relief and joy. The ringing of the church bells and the flying of the Union Jack from the church tower in Rainham marked the end of the Great War on November 11^th 1918.

David Wood

Letter from a Rainham Soldier in Egypt in 1917

After serving in Gallipoli with the East Kent Mounted Rifles brothers Reg and Seymour Wickins were sent to the Middle East with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. They disembarked at Alexandria and went to Cairo where they stayed at the Anzac Hotel. With some free time they were able to hire a guide and visit the Sphinx and the pyramids in Giza then the pharoahs tombs. They also managed to visit the Sultan Hassan and Mohammed Ali mosques and the citadel, a large fort that Napoleon had tried to capture. During the course of serving in the Middle East, Reg Wickins wrote letters back to his family in Station Road. One of these letters written in Egypt appeared in the East Kent Gazette dated April 28^th, 1917.

‘I was asked to go on a certain job a few weeks back, and it was to guard a convoy of camels across the desert. Well, of course we had to ride one; that put the wind up us for a start; as neither of us had been on a camel before, although we had had enough to do with them and seen a lot of them. To begin with we made our seats as soft as possible; got the locals to put them on then got on ourselves. To this day I don’t know how it was that, when the camel was on its feet I was still on top, as they have a very nasty motion when getting up. Well, we started away alright and did twenty two miles that day and got to an old Bedouin farmhouse about six o’ clock; had some dinner and turned in for the night. The next day we were up early and had breakfast, and got on the way again and did about the same distance that day, but had nowhere to sleep, so made the best of it. About 5 am we were awakened by the stable guard, which consisted of two locals, who told us that somebody had been round the camp trying to ‘pinch’ the stuff. We were out of bed in a moment, got our camels and went to look for the men. Our NCO in charge sent one of us with two locals in different directions; he went with the chief of the locals. Well, after an hour of trotting about the country, I returned to find the other men back, but not the NCO; he came in about half an hour later with an Arab tied to a rope.

When we got into camp they asked him some questions and found out he was the man. Now we come to where the fun commenced. The NCO ordered him to have thirty lashes with the whip. Of course, this is what the locals wanted to see, so four of them came forward and two of them got hold of his head and the other two his legs and held him to the ground; after they had stripped his clothes off. Then the chief of the locals gave him his hiding which I would not have had for all the money in the world. The Arab was then allowed to go his way in fear. This may seem very cruel to you in England who have had no dealings with such men but it is the only thing that appeals to them, and I think it did to the Arab.

We arrived at our destination about 4-30 pm that day which was Saturday and stayed until Monday morning. The journey back now was alright, nothing happened out of the way. We got back to our old camp at eleven am to find that half our company had gone to Abe and that we had to follow the next day. Of course, we were pleased to hear the news and prepared to go. That night we were awakened by the sound of bullets going off and were told to keep low as one of our tents was alight. After all the bullets had gone off we dressed and went to have a look at the fire but by the time we got there the locals had put the fire out and thrown dirt over it. There were four sergeants sleeping in the tent at the time and neither woke until the place was well alight. When the first man awoke he shouted to the others and jumped out; then the third awoke and tried to get out, but the tent was all ablaze and he could not find his way out. At last he saw the door and jumped, but his foot caught in a box and he went head long into the fire and was burned very badly. During this time the other sergeant was still sleeping and remained asleep until the tent fell on him, but of course he could not get out, so two other sergeants went and pulled him out; but it was too late as he was burned all over; he had not got a piece of skin left on his body. Out of the four who came in the tent two got away with slight burns, the other two were taken to hospital straight away. The last sergeant to be out of the tent died two days after and the other one will be very lucky if he gets over his lot.’

After serving in Gallipoli, Egypt and Palestine the brothers finished the war on the Western Front in France but survived and returned to Rainham where they lived out the remainder of their lives.

Note - the original letter contained a word no longer used which has been replaced with the word "locals"

Rainham at War in 1917

With a British naval blockade in progress the Germans retaliated with unrestricted submarine warfare to starve Britain out of the war. Meanwhile, as in the previous two years, the war effort in Rainham continued with fund raising and war related activities with news of more casualties from the battle front.

The year began with heavy snow as Mrs Perry of Rainham Congregational Church entertained soldiers billeted in Rainham at the church school. Later in February the formation of the Food Production Society took place in an effort to utilize available ground in the parish for food production. George Quinnell from Broad Walk chaired the society that wanted to cultivate every available piece of land in the parish. The parish council wanted four acres of land to cultivate and later in the year they purchased a potato sprayer and six cases of chemical spray in preparation for this.

Boys of the Church of England School in Station Road enrolled for National Service to assist with digging gardens for widows and wives of servicemen whose husbands were fighting in the war. Mr Wilson who worked as a master at the school gave advice to people about how to plant seeds and potatoes while a lecture given by Mr W A Milliard from the Agricultural Department of Leeds University about planting took place in the Church Hall

In social affairs the Kent Fortress Royal Engineers stationed in Hartlip organised a whist drive and dance at the Council School to raise money on behalf of St Bart’s Hospital while a war savings meeting took place in the church hall to form a war savings association. This led to other associations being formed in different parts of the parish. Rainham Congregational Church in Chapel Lane had one of the most successful associations with 26 members.

The annual Empire Day celebrations in May helped raise nationalistic pride as people assembled in the playground of the Church of England School in Station Road while pupils and teachers paraded in front of them and the Union Jack flew from the church tower. Reverend Tamplin began with prayers, those present saluted the Union Jack and a verse from the National Anthem sung. Certificates were then distributed to pupils. Mrs Webster presented these to the boys, Miss Walter to the girls and Mrs Wakeley to the infants. After this cheers were given for the empire, the Queen, the Royal Family, soldiers, sailors and airmen.

June began with the Food Economy Exhibition at the Council School organised by Mr Mattocks and opened by Lady Callaghan, wife of the Admiral Superintendent at the Nore. Money raised from the exhibition was donated to Fort Pitt Hospital in Chatham. Money raising continued in July with a Bandage Day in aid of the War Hospital Supply Guild and the well-attended event raised £4/10/0d.

Throughout the year regular news arrived about casualties at the battle front. In January Joseph Drain aged 24 of Layfield Road, Gillingham died in action. He had previously lived in Station Road, Rainham where his parents owned a greengrocer’s shop and had attended the National School in Station Road. Better news revealed that Sergeant-Major Raynor Swan aged 27 and formerly of Ivy Street had been mentioned in despatches for bravery. Six years before the war he travelled to Australia and joined the army in 1914. He had fought at Gallipoli and Egypt and had been wounded in the head and poisoned by barbed wire. After Gallipoli he went to France where he became Sergeant-Major. Sir Douglas Haig mentioned him in despatches for bravery on the battlefield.

In March news of more fatalities arrived with the death of Lance-Corporal Thomas Russell aged 20 of the East Kent Yeomanry from Station Road, killed in the trenches of France while beating back a German attack. Other fatalities included Bombardier Herbert Webb aged 22 from Ivy Street, James Wall from Station Road and George Crittenden aged 33 from Broad Walk. In May John Ashby of the East Surrey Regiment from Ivy Street was reported killed in action in France. He had earlier served as a member of the Rainham Volunteer Platoon.

Later in June a bomb killed Rainham resident Elizabeth Maxted during a German air attack at Folkestone. Herbert Croucher aged 19 of the Buffs from Milton Road (now Webster Road) was killed in France and Bombardier Thomas Holloway aged 24 of the RFA from Rainham High Street died from spotted fever.

More news in August announced the death of Private Arthur Blundy from Lower Rainham aged 37 of the Middlesex Regiment was killed in action in France and Private Maurice Naylor of the Buffs from London Road in Rainham died from the effects of the heat while serving in Iraq.  In October Gunner Ide Gooding was killed in action in France while former Council School assistant master Captain Pitcher of the Artists and Rifles Regiment suffered a head wound in France. After the war he received the Military Medal for bravery.

In August an air raid over Rainham lasted for about thirty minutes and two bombs were dropped and exploded but nobody got injured, a rare occurrence in Rainham during the war. Kent coastal towns suffered much more from bombing raids and sustained casualties.

The death of the well-known and popular Lion Inn publican Phil Curling who died of pneumonia in December turned out to be one of the greatest losses to Rainham in 1917. Aged 47 and originally from Faversham, he had been in the public eye for some time, firstly as a well-known cyclist who had formed the Rainham Cycle Club, a licensed victualler, a promoter of sports meetings, an official at both Rainham Cricket Club and Rainham Football Club and a freemason. He also became a member of Rainham Horticultural Society and had formed the Rainham Gardeners Mutual Improvement Society. In the war years he had spoken at recruiting meetings for the Buffs and served as a special constable in the village. He had spent time as a member of the parish council and served as chairman of the Sittingbourne and District Licensed Victuallers Association. In the year before he died he organised a boxing tournament for the Red Cross Hospital in Sittingbourne. His death generated great sadness in Rainham as many residents had great respect for him.

At the end of the year the parish council discussed ploughing up the recreation ground and using it for food production but opposition from the public prevented this. News also arrived that girls and Infant’s at the Church of England School gave their Christmas subscription to the Blinded Soldiers and Sailors Children’s Fund. The girls raised £4/2/0d while the infants raised £3.

While residents in Rainham continued their war fund raising activities and local men died at the Front, an allied breakthrough attempt at Ypres in July and a major offensive at Passchendale in the autumn both failed with heavy casualties. After this at least Britain entered 1918 with the knowledge that the USA had entered the conflict with the hope that this might contribute to ending the war.