The events of October 1918
The September ‘push’ which was gradually bringing the war to an end was also producing a large number of casualties, killed and
wounded, for the newspaper to feature as it had for the four previous year. Alongside were the stories of heroism, rewarded with
medals, of some men being discharged having done their ‘bit’ and of prisoners of war who had been released.
With victory now seeming inevitable, the thoughts started to turn to war pensions and to allowances made to the wives of soldiers
which had come nowhere near keeping pace with inflation.
At home there was concern about food and fuel shortages with hints on how money and valuable resources could be saved for the
good of the nation and a crackdown on some of those trying to profiteer from the shortages. And a hot topic of debat was whether
shops should take their half-day closing on Saturday which would be good for the staff but inconvenient for those who didn’t get
paid until Saturday lunch time.
As well as thinking about the future of the men who would be returning from war, there was a great deal of discussion about the
role of women, especially as they were about to get the vote for the first time. Acknowledgement was made that without the work
women had done, it would not have been possible to keep the war going but what was their role post war? Some even went as far
as to suggest they had the right to be accepted into the professions like accountancy!
Many of these topics were about to turn up for discussion in the forthcoming election which pitted Liberal H Norman Rae against
ILP’s Tom Snowden, two men with very different views on matters, not least on how peace should be brought about.
The links here will take you to pages containing stories published exactly 100 years before. The headlines shown are only a taste of
the stories that appear on that page.
4 October 1918
- Windhill vicar writes from the Front Line
- Letters home from “Eccleshill Road”
- Serving men condemn striking miners
- Shilling a week increase for the poor
- Concern over soldiers’ allowances
- Need to tackle the profiteers
- Killed after just two days in the trenches
- Civilian distress shames ‘shirkers’ at home
- POWs give the view from the other side
- Soldier’s wife struggling to make ends meet
- What is the best role for women?
- Shipley women reluctant to volunteer
- Killed after just two days in the trenches
- Civilian distress shames ‘shirkers’ at home
- POWs give the view from the other side
- Over the top ten times in a month
- Fell while awaiting an artificial leg
- Military Cross for leadership
11 October 1918
- Windhill vicar writes from the Front Line
- Letters home from “Eccleshill Road”
- Serving men condemn striking miners
- Candidates disagree about peace talks
- Buried with military honours
- Ejected tenant rebukes the Bench
- Killed after just two days in the trenches
- Civilian distress shames ‘shirkers’ at home
- POWs give the view from the other side
- Work accident led to suicide
- Scandal of army wives’s allowances
- Milk dealer rescues sour puddings
- Killed after just two days in the trenches
- Civilian distress shames ‘shirkers’ at home
- POWs give the view from the other side
- Family lose second son
- Sportsman killed in action
- Sailor missing
18 October 1918
- Windhill vicar writes from the Front Line
- Letters home from “Eccleshill Road”
- Serving men condemn striking miners
- To early to trust the German note
- Liberal candidate sets out his policies
- Whisky auction boosts funds
- Killed after just two days in the trenches
- Civilian distress shames ‘shirkers’ at home
- POWs give the view from the other side
- Saturday half-day needs careful thought
- Woman found dead in the canal
- Man wounded in shooting incident
- Killed after just two days in the trenches
- Civilian distress shames ‘shirkers’ at home
- POWs give the view from the other side
- Councillor ‘loses’ second son
- Great soldier and great man KIA
- Medals for local soldiers
- Teenage flyer put up a grand fight
- Tributes to sailor lost at sea
- Soldier killed in a rest camp
25 October 1918
- Windhill vicar writes from the Front Line
- Letters home from “Eccleshill Road”
- Serving men condemn striking miners
- The work of the War Pensions Committee
- Support for Wakefield ‘conchies’
- Women deserve chance to be accountants
- Killed after just two days in the trenches
- Civilian distress shames ‘shirkers’ at home
- POWs give the view from the other side
- Saturday half-day will damage Shipley
- Death of a sporting dyeworker
- Make sure contribution is credited correctly
- Killed after just two days in the trenches
- Civilian distress shames ‘shirkers’ at home
- POWs give the view from the other side
- Woman loses her third son
- Prisoner of War enjoying new freedom
- Discharged soldiers in court
