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Deafness and The Great War
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At the beginning of the First World War thousands of men signed up to join the armed forces to do their patriotic duty for ‘King and Empire’. Some saw it as a sense of adventure and a way to escape their arduous or monotonous life, and by the end of 1914, 1,186,337 men had enlisted.
They came from all walks-of-life – everyone wanted to do their bit. But those with hearing loss were rejected by the army and in some cases, rejected by their communities for their perceived cowardice. Yet some saw them as the lucky ones, fortunate, to avoid active service and escape the fighting. These men were not all expecting to fight at the front, they just wanted to be useful and assist the war effort.
At the start of war the editor of the British Deaf Times, asked ‘what possibilities there were for deaf people to help with the war effort’. A letter sent to Lord Kitchener, the Secretary of State for War, pointed out ‘that deaf young men were eager to share the Empire’s work’. The government responded by stating that, ‘there were no opportunities at present available to make use of them’.
Following the introduction of conscription in 1916, things changed. With many of the workingmen sent out to France to fight there was an urgent need for manpower in factories across the country. Finally, deaf people became involved in the country’s war effort, taking up employment as munitions workers – making and testing shells, fuses, and manufacturing everything from tools through to wheels.
When War was first declared, security was tightened throughout the country and sentries were posted at many important installations, rail and shipping depots and essential bridges. But many deaf people were unaware of the situation, resulting in some paying for it with their lives.
There are a number of stories about deaf people being randomly shot while walking home from work, cycling or generally carrying out everyday duties. In many cases, they were challenged to stop by sentries but unable to hear the sentry’s commands, (who may have been some distance away) continued on their way. After several challenges they were shot, becoming unforeseen casualties of war.
London deaf on munition work showing bombs. Picture: Action on Hearing loss
Charles Carroll, was shot by a London Territorial sentry. He was examining an Aldershot railway bridge, and was challenged six times by the sentry before the latter fired. Carroll, who is almost stone deaf, is seriously wounded.
The Times Charles Carroll later died of his wounds, and so became another casualty of war.
Reports of these tragic deaths found their way into the local and national press and so in September 1914, the British Deaf Times published a set of guidelines warning its readers not to go out walking alone, avoid loitering by bridges, stations or go near railway lines, in addition they should be accompanied by a hearing person where possible.
Although strict rules were set in place barring people with a hearing impairment from serving as soldiers, a number of deaf people managed to get into the army and some, even made their way to the Front.
Harry Ward, born deaf and dumb, was a 27-year-old teacher from Cardiff. He somehow managed to pass the army medical and joined the Munster Fusiliers and did his basic training in Ireland. Private Gomer Jones was profoundly deaf since early infancy and had no sight in his right eye. Jones was said to be the best marksman in his company and a skilled soldier, indistinguishable from his fellow fighters. Frederick Morffew, was determined to make it to the front. Surprisingly he passed his medical and joined the army in May 1915. He served for around six weeks before being discharged on account of his deafness. Undeterred, he joined the labour corps and was posted to France.
Many though were soon to be discharged because of their disability, cutting short their army service. James Clarke from Ballymena, Northern Ireland had enlisted in September 1914 and served until December, a total of 83 days. His discharge paper stated that he suffered from ‘deafness, in both ears for the last five years, he has not heard a word of command since joining the battalion.’
The enthusiasm to be involved was also reflected in those from the British Colonies. Howard Lloyd from Ontario in Canada was registered as being deaf. His hearing was severely damaged following a bout of whooping cough when he was young. He successfully enlisted in the army and served in the trenches near Arras Northern France during the war.
His first three attempts to enlist were unsuccessful. On one occasion, the doctor was chewing gum. Howard, watching lips and straining ears in an effort to pass the examination finally asked the doctor to remove his gum so he could understand what was being said. At this point the doctor realised he had defective hearing and he was hastily shown the door.
Undeterred, he was finally accepted in the summer of 1916 and signed up to become an infantryman. He trained in Canada for six months before being transferred to England and in February 1917 was sent to France, where he served in the front-line trenches. He volunteered for bombing raids
Melbourn Mobile Warden Scheme
Can we help you? Can we help a relative? Can we help a neighbour? Who does the Scheme help?
The scheme is open to anyone who requests our help including those who live alone or with their families but need the extra support offered by our services. Couples too are most welcome. It is also open to those in sheltered housing, as the scheme offers different, but complementary services. Note: The scheme also offers its services for short periods to cover the temporary absence of relatives who otherwise provide this support. We offer help with:
•Friendship and support via twice weekly visits and daily phone calls • Ordering and collection of prescriptions • Basic shopping • Collection of pensions • Setting up Lifeline service • Bereavement support • Advice on benefits • Going to the Post Office to pay your bills • Advice on getting repairs done in your home • Arranging transport to the hospital or other appointments • Just coming round for a chat What will it cost?
We do have to make a small weekly charge for the warden’s services. The fee is only £5 per week (a little more for couples). Margo Wherrell (Mobile Warden) 01763 260966 Mobile: 07935 315497 Email: tigress270549@aol.com Jeannie Seers (Deputy Warden) 01763 262651 Mobile: 07808 735066 Email: jeanseers1@ntlworld.com Melbourn Warden Scheme is a registered charity. 17 October 1927 – 22 December 2014
Elizabeth Hughes-Jones who died in December, was born in Poona, India and attended boarding school in England. However, at the beginning of WW2, her parents sent for her and her brother to return to India. This involved a very exciting, but rather scary, sea voyage in a convoy with a group of other children.
She attended a school up in the hills in India where she did well academically. It was a Catholic convent, run by German nuns who were interned in the school due to the war. She was of great interest to the other girls who hadn’t been to England.
When Elizabeth left school, she returned to the Bristol family home. She took up nursing, moved to London and met Nevin at Hammersmith Hospital. They were married in 1952 and had 3 children; Jonathan, Tim and Jill. The family lived in Ealing and then moved here to Melbourn in 1979.
Elizabeth was a giver and on arriving in Melbourn, she got stuck in to volunteering for many local organisations such as the Melbourn Lunch Club, secretary for Melbourn WI, volunteering at the Royston Citizens Advice Bureau, helping out at the Melbourn Mother and Toddler Group, Moorlands Care Home, co-ordinating drivers to provide lifts for the local elderly. She also helped with the local Christian Aid fund raising. And there were probably others I don’t know about but I expect some of you will.
The family are very grateful for all who attended Elizabeth’s Thanksgiving Service at All Saints’ Church, Melbourn on 23 January 2015. She was obviously well loved and respected by the local community. May her devotion to volunteering and helping those around her, be a legacy to us all.
Library
It has been particularly pleasing to witness the growing interest amongst local school children in the library. The library has a good selection of books for children of all ages and abilities. Our Young Readers section is good for the size of our library and is proving popular. As with adult books, children’s books can be ordered either at the desk or online if a particular one is not on the shelves. The system covers the whole of Cambridgeshire so there is a vast number of books available.
Story time at the hub continues to be well supported. This is held every Friday during term time 10–10.30 am for children from 0–4 years, no need to book just come along. The stories, singing and rhymes are enjoyed by all the children. If anyone has any children’s musical instruments suitable for this age group and no longer needed we would be very grateful to have them.
Contact Mandy Handscombe 01763 261681. The extended opening on Mondays, from 12.30am, is now well established. Jane Stevens
Bells and Bell-ringing
The very English tradition of change-ringing of church bells is several centuries old, but its continuity locally is threatened by the limited numbers of bell-ringers available. If you once learned bell-ringing even in a very limited way, or would like to find out more about what it involves, why not get in touch?
There is a joint band which rings the bells at both All Saints’ Church, Melbourn, and Holy Trinity Church, Meldreth, meeting for practice every Wednesday at Holy Trinity at 7.45pm. The band rings for the main 9.45 service alternately on Sunday mornings at these churches, as well as for weddings and special events.
If you would like any further information, you would be welcome at a practice night or please contact us on 01763 261518. Barbara and Terry Mitchell
Volunteers are needed for café duty at The Hub
Do you like meeting people? Do you have a few hours to spare on a regular basis? Come and join the band of volunteers already making a difference in our busy village Hub Contact: SusieFletcher@melbournhub.com or melb699@hotmail.co.uk for further details
Royal British legion Women’s Section
Melbourn and Meldreth Branch As usual at this time of year we have had a a lot of activities and functions to attend.
In November it was arranged for some of our ladies to meet children from Melbourn Village College at The Hub. The British Legion ladies helped the children to make poppies to decorate All Saints’ Church on Remembrance Sunday. On that day I first took the Standard to Meldreth War memorial and then went on to Melbourn to the Cross. Afterwards I took the Standard into the church for the service and it was packed with members of the public.
The Standard was also present when some members attended the Memorial Sevice at 11am on Tuesday November 11th at The Cross. I would like to thank everyone who attended for their support.
At this point I would like to thank Mike and Anne Swan for their hard work in organising the local Poppy Appeal. The total raised was £6,500. Their work has been greatly appreciated.
At the end of November six members attended the conference at Manea in the Fens. The Standard was taken along. Also several members made the journey to the Tower of London to see the display of poppies in the moat. It was a breathtaking sight. We were surprised to see so many people viewing the poppies.
In December we held a table top sale, tombola and raffle
Melbourn Village College and the Orchestre De Picardie
present Noye’s Fludde op.59
by Benjamin Britten An opera in one act Conductor Arie van Beek
Featuring students from Melbourn, Cambourne & Comberton Village Colleges, Harston & Newton, Foxton and Hauxton primary schools, as well as school in France.
At Comberton Sports and Arts
Thursday 5 March 2015 – 8:00 pm Friday 6 March 2015 – 8:00 pm
Tickets £10 Adult / £5 concession: Thursday March 5th www.wegottickets.com/event/307197 Friday March 6th www.wegottickets.com/event/307198
www.combertonsa.co.uk www.facebook.com/CombertonSportsArts
at Meldreth Community Rooms to increase our fund raising. We were invited to the Parish Council Chairman’s Christmas Reception. I was unexpectedly given an award for Services to the Community as Standard bearer representing Melbourn and Meldreth.
Now we are looking forward to a busy calendar including visiting speakers and social meetings. We would still like more members so if you would like to join us please come along to our meetings held at 2pm on the last Wednesday of every month at Vicarage Close Community Centre. Pauline Parkinson Standard Bearer. Chairman Anne Neaves Secretary Betty Murphy Tel 220841
Melbourn & Meldreth Women’s Group
The Group is for all women of any age. Meetings are held at 7.45 p.m. on the 4th Tuesday of each month, except in December and we vary our venues between Melbourn and Meldreth. We charge £1 on the night to cover expenses and
inside the German trenches, which involved at times being loaded with so many hand-bombs or grenades that he was unable to carry any other weapon.
‘We were each defended by a bayonet-man, who kept a pace behind us to protect us from a rear attack. We waited for darkness and then stealthily crossed No-Man’s Land and into the German trenches. Once there, we disposed of our bombs where they would do the most damage. We tossed them into huts, gun positions and supply dumps – as quickly as we could.
We ran with all speed back to our own lines.’ Howard was only wounded once, when a German egg-bomb (grenade) exploded nearby and a piece of shrapnel lodged in the back of his neck. These bombs were treated with poison and the wound became infected and put him in hospital for two weeks. Returning to the front lines he served for several more months, he was then transferred from the trenches, but remained within the fighting zone until the end of the war.
At the front
The First World War saw the introduction of many new destructive ways of inflicting damage. Each new weapon greatly increasing the noise at the front. Just outside of the town of La Boisselle, France, a mine known as Lochnagar was dug near the German front line and packed with highexplosives. On 1st July 1916 the explosives were detonated. The explosion created a crater 300 feet (91 metres) across and 70 feet (21 metres) deep, including a lip 15 feet (4.6 metres) high. The sound of the blast was the loudest man-made noise in history – up to that point, with reports suggesting it was heard in London.
‘At Boisselle the earth heaved and flashed, a tremendous and magnificent column rose up in the sky. There was an ear-splitting roar drowning all the guns, flinging the machine sideways in the repercussing air. The earth column rose higher and higher to almost 4,000 feet. There it hung, or seemed to hang, for a moment in the air, like the silhouette of some great cypress tree, then fell away in a widening cone of dust and debris. A moment later came the second mine. Again the roar, the upflung machine, the strange gaunt silhouette invading the sky. Then the dust cleared and we saw the two white eyes of the craters. The barrage had lifted to the second-line trenches’
The scream and explosion of the shells as they landed, the automatic gunfire, grenades, mortars, and high explosives were
The crater left by the Lochnagar mine 1st July 1916
Almost 2 million shells were fired on German lines during the Battle of the Somme.
constant. At the Battle of the Somme, almost 2 million shells were fired on German lines in the space of a week.
During such continuous bombardment the noise level was great enough to cause permanent hearing loss, especially among the artillery gunners.
‘There were days when you could hear a bird sing or the twitching of the rat running under the duckboards or gnawing your kit bag, but on a heavy combat day, the noise was deafening. The constant firing and barrage of artillery shells was enough to drive anybody mad.’ For the commanders and soldiers it was a matter of staying alive and inflicting as much damage as possible on the enemy; the loss of hearing or the protection of it, was secondary. In fact the use of any form of hearing protection was seen as dangerous. Soldiers wearing earplugs would not hear orders, warnings, or direction of fire, etc.
Those exposed to the amount of noise in the trenches of the Western Front over a significant period of time stood a good chance of suffering a significant amount of hearing impairment.
‘John Taylor a British sniper was in a tree when an exploding shell blew him out of the tree and subsequently rendered him totally deaf.’ Many soldiers, returning from the trenches suffered not just from deafness but from a number of conditions, blindness, unable to speak or paralysis. Doctors were at a loss to find any physical damage to explain their symptoms.
One medical officer suggested that these soldiers were suffering from ‘wounded in mind’ or ‘shell-shock’ due to the continuing exposure to exploding shells. However, it became apparent that there were deeper causes and that many men suffering the symptoms of shell-shock had never been in the front lines. By 1916, over forty percent of the casualties at the front were victims of shell-shock.
It’s not known how many came back suffering permanent hearing loss, but it is clear that a great many of those who suffered continued exposure to the noise eventually lost some or all their hearing. Many of those who lost their hearing suffering from ‘shell-shock’ may have regained their hearing or at least part of it, but nevertheless, there were many more that never really recovered from their ordeal. Peter Simmonett
there is an opportunity to make a donation to the chosen charity of the year. We usually have a guest speaker or some in house entertainment followed by a chance to have a chat over tea/coffee and biscuits.
Our March meeting is on the 24th at The Meeting Room attached to Holy Trinity Church where Barbara Mackellar will lead us on a Lent reflection which gives us time to take a breather from our hectic lives as we think of Easter approaching. 28 April sees us in The Community Hall behind All Saints Church Melbourn when Preet Kaur will talk to us about forced marriages and honour crimes which I am sure will be an eye opener for us.
On the 26th May we will have our Summer Supper at Holy Trinity Meeting Rooms in Meldreth. A ploughman’s supper is usually prepared by the committee members and desserts follow, some of our members usually help out with these to make a mouth watering selection.
If you would like to know more about the group do come along – we are a friendly bunch or you can ring Pat Smith (262575) Sue Toule (260955) or Anne Harrison (261775).
Royston-Cambridge cycle corridor
There has been much in the news lately about the prospect of significant government funding for a safe cycling route along the A10 corridor, comprised of segments joining up our villages with Cambridge and Royston and allowing people to move around in a new way. These new ‘cycle links’ would be designed for what are called ‘Non Motorized Users’ – walkers, cyclists, wheelchair users, mobility scooters. The government funding for our area that has received so much attention is called the City Deal, and it is designed for improving transport infrastructure in areas of economic growth, and particularly with clusters of employment centres. Because of concern about moving inexorably toward gridlock congestion on the A10, the aspiration is to provide an alternative to driving, and especially driving to work, in order to help prevent things from getting worse.
With Johnson Matthey, TAP and Tesco at the Royston end (to name a few), AstraZeneca, TTP and PA Consulting at Melbourn (to name a few), and Addenbrookes, schools, sixth forms and universities at the Cambridge end (to name a few), the map of people travelling to work quickly lights up.
The process of assessing and scoring prospective schemes for City Deal funding has been underway for several months, and the Royston-Cambridge cycle link was felt to be one of the most promising. One of the requirements of City Deal funding is that the first tranche of schemes is delivered within five years, in order to trigger the second tranche of funding. The Cambridge-Royston was slated to be one of the early schemes in tranche one because it is ‘shovel ready’ and fits the bill so well.
There are two City Deal decision-making bodies – the Assembly, which is the larger and more representative group of 15, and the Executive Board made up of five people, of whom only three have a vote – the leaders of Cambridge City, Cambridgeshire County and South Cambridgeshire District Councils. The Assembly considered and debated the Royston-Cambridge cycle link and voted to support it, together with four other South Cambridgeshire cycling schemes. The expectation was that the Executive would uphold and the Assembly’s consensus – but on the day, that did not happen. All five South Cambridgeshire cycle schemes were discarded, with little discussion. There are questions now about the governance of this once-in-a-generation funding scheme and the concentration of power in the hands of a few.
Where was tranche 1 funding allocated? The successful cycle schemes are within Cambridge City, and the South Cambridgeshire schemes are bus priority measures at key points such as Madingley Rise and the 1307 to Haverhill. They are important but there is concern about their deliverability. In the A10 corridor we are lucky to have rail service but this doesn’t work for all journeys, and complaints are steadily increasing about peak time congestion on the approach to Cambridge, and the viability of Park and Ride as a reliable destination. One can only surmise that the major planned developments at Trumpington Meadows, Hauxton, Melbourn and Royston will not help. Speculative planning applications at Barrington, Foxton and Melbourn don’t even figure in traffic modelling.
Because the case for ‘Non Motorized Users’ along the A10 is so strong we’re advised that other funding pots may be found to deliver parts of the scheme, and that there is always the next tranche of City Deal funding in five yeas’ time. Realistically though, governments come and go, and goal posts move. The process will be more challenging than expected. The A10 Corridor Cycling Campaign, two years old with new members joining at every turn and now tallying 150 people, is working hard to help present the case.
There will be a chance to learn more at the 19 March meeting of the A10 Corridor Cycling Campaign (Barrington Village Hall, 7 for 7:30PM). So please do feel free to come along. Susan van de Ven
Rail User Group
New waiting shelter for Meldreth Station: better late than never! Five years ago, at the very first meeting of the Meldreth, Shepreth and Foxton Rail User Group, Jim Eggleton asked the then train operating company if we could have a shelter on the Cambridgebound platform to provide somewhere dry to wait outside of booking office hours.
At last, that looks set to happen! The Rail User Group included the shelter in
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