When Britain declared war on Germany Canon Palmes at St Mary Magdalene, South Holmwood, announced that a bell would toll at twelve noon each day for the duration of hostilities. He asked that those who heard it might lift their hearts to God for the sake of those serving at the front.
Quakers in Dorking put up posters urging peace, but they were torn down by recruiters. Ministers exhorted their congregations to do their duty. The Reverend Bird of Newdigate regretted British unpreparedness in not having trained every young man for military service, as the Germans had done. The young men of the parish, he wrote in the parish magazine: ‘should enlist in the Regular Army or join Lord Kitchener’s force’. He regretted that all had not: ‘One could have wished that all the young men in the Parish had regarded it as their duty and privilege to offer themselves in this time of great trouble.’
Parishes, like schools, began compiling rolls of honour to record those who had volunteered to serve. Often even those who had been rejected were listed, so that they could be distinguished from those who had not volunteered.
Next : Ralph Vaughan Williams
