16
On Tuesday, 4
th
August 1914 at 11pm, Britain declared war on Germany following its
invasion of Belgium. Soon the fighting produced a stalemate with all sides digging de-
fensive trenches from the Belgian coast to the Alps; and with many attacks and counter-
attacks these trenches remained until, following massive attrition of its troops and civil-
ian starvation, Germany sought an armistice on Monday, 11
th
November 1918. These
few words inadequately summarise four years of hell on Earth, a huge death toll, untold
misery and grief for millions of families and an upheaval in our social structure which
continues to have an impact on us one hundred years on.
Buckden and Stirtloe men more than did their bit, although they were a little slow off the
mark in the early days when Diddington volunteers flocked to the Colours first, but Buck-
den soon caught up in the following months.
Buckden’s population in 1911 (and likely similar in 1914) was 995, of whom 482 were
male and 254 of those were or became of military age (18-41 years) during the war.
The Roll of Honour in St. Mary’s Church records the names of the 96 men who had vol-
unteered for service by January 1916 when compulsory conscription was imposed. A
further 81 men joined following conscription, making a total of 177 Buckden and Stirtloe
men who served in the Great War. Others stayed at home, 59 men being exempted for
essential work or illness and another
18 whose status is unknown at pre-
sent.
Seventy percent of Buckden’s eligible
men enlisted whereas nationwide the figure was around 52%.
Not only did Buckden men provide far more men than the na-
tional average, they and their families paid a greater price:
Buckden & Stirtloe men killed: 39 (22% of the 177 men
serving. National average: 12%).
Buckden & Stirtloe men wounded: 47 (26% of men serv
ing. National average: 23%).
Buckden & Stirtloe prisoners of war: 8 (5% of service
men. National average: 2%).
The primary reason for this was that the
vast majority of Buckden men served in the infantry at the Front, rather than
being in the various support units at home or further from the fighting.
While most of our 177 servicemen were soldiers, we did have seven in the
Royal Navy and five in the Royal Flying Corps (now RAF).
Local women also contributed to the war effort, although not in the large
numbers sometimes supposed; being a working-class housewife and moth-
er in 1914 was an 18-hour-a-day job in itself. This left mainly unmarried
women to take the place of the men in the fields, shops, offices and pubs,
while middle-class ladies organised and
funded others. Part of the latter in-
volved arranging for schoolchildren to
collect eggs and blackberries which
were shipped in enormous quantities
from both Buckden stations to soldiers
in hospitals in London, the North and Midlands and to France. Children also
collected conkers for a secret purpose which they were never told (they were
used in the munitions industry) and joined their mothers in making articles for
the men at the Front.
Buckden Towers was home to the Lovat Scouts Regiment from September
1914 until at least August 1915, being based here to provide support against a
feared German invasion. The men had such broad Scottish accents, with
some speaking Gaelic, that the locals initially believed them to be Russians!
Then from before April 1917 until May 1919 the Towers was used a Red
Cross convalescent hospital for wounded soldiers, with five of the female
nursing staff being from the village. The Towers laundry across the road had
already been a Red Cross hospital from September 1914 until August 1916.
THE GREAT WAR BEGAN ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO THIS MONTH
'The Carter brothers of Silver Street,
Buckden in 1918. L-R: William, Bedford-
shire Regt; George, Royal Army Service
Corps; Arthur, Royal Naval Division. Both
William and Arthur were wounded and all
survived the war.' (courtesy B. Jobling).
'A Lovat Scout stands sentry outside Buckden Tow-
ers, 1915.' (courtesy Buckden Local History Society)
'Ten days after the war starts, the Melland family ladies enjoy
tea on the lawn at Ivelbury, Buckden High Street. The site is
now Ivelbury Close.' (courtesy Frank & Evelyn Melland)
'Soldiers keep their sense of humour, hamming it up in the
mud of Passchendaele, October 1917.' (courtesy B. Job-
ling).
continued next page
Barry Jobling
