World War 1 & the Railways: Difference between revisions

 

At the start of the war, every letter sent back home was opened and read by a junior officer and then opened again in London, to ensure it contained no reference to casualties or troop movements. Later in the war, men could opt for an “Honour Envelope” which meant that the letter would only be read in London, saving the embarrassment of having personal endearments read by a censor they knew.

For Christmas 1914 the Princess Mary’s Fund supplied gifts, usually a pipe, tin box of tobacco and cigarettes to every man in the armed forces. This was an additional workload on the railways and postal service. By the next Christmas, many battalions had made their own cards for sending home.

 

At its peak, this operation was delivering 12 million letters and 1 million parcels a week. It took just two days for a letter to travel from London to the Front Line. A letter from home or from a loved one was a vital morale booster. For many, reading and rereading a letter could be a welcome distraction from the horrors of the trenches.

=== Local Industry and the War Effort ===

The railway sidings at Dundas, a little west of Sandycroft, were substantially expanded during WW1 to cater for increased traffic from the Admiral Dundas colliery, the local chemical works and the HM Munitions factory at Queensferry which was built in 1915, some 300 yards east of Dundas Sidings Signal Box, and at that time it was called the Royal Navy Guncotton Factory by the War Office.

This was on the site of the former engineering works of Williams & Robinson, boilermakers, between the railway and the river. At the beginning of the war, there had originally been a detention camp here for Germans who had been living in this country.

 

 

In May 1917, the King and Queen were again in the Chester area, this time without the pomp. They visited the munitions plant and Mancot and then went on to Henry Woods Chain Factory in Saltney, where many anchor chains for naval vessels were manufactured. Then a visit was made to the Chester Castle before calling at the Hydraulic Engineering Works. After Chester, they travelled on to Birkenhead, continuing a tour of the North West in order to help bolster morale.

In mid-1915 the authorities went cap-in-hand to the railway companies asking them to cease all but essential repair and construction work and to turn their facilities over to war work. By the end of the year the main railway works were turning out almost 5,000 six-inch shells every week.

 

 

=== Railway Employees ===

Railway employees were initially treated as having a Reserved Occupation. Despite this, 100,000 out of a total of over 700,000 employees signed up for military service. By the end of the war 20,000 of these volunteers had lost their lives.

 

 

Many people thought that the war would be over by Christmas. On 14th September 2014, the Theatre Quarter, in a performance in front of Chester Station, captured the spirit and optimism of those leaving their loved ones, perhaps never to see them again. A choir, dressed as soldiers, nurses and families, sang many well-loved songs, accompanied by musicians. Performances were made at 23 other stations in the North West.

 

==== Railway Service Badges ====