Alnwick in the Great War by Craig Armstrong

Author:Craig Armstrong [Armstrong, Craig]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nonfiction, History, Military, World War I, British
ISBN: 9781473875210
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books
Published: 2016-10-31T04:00:00+00:00

William Brand, a well-known man in pre-war Alnwick, his appointment as first assistant electrical engineer at Portsmouth Naval Dockyard made headlines locally.

A meeting of the Alnwick Urban Tribunal at the end of May/beginning of June heard an appeal from well-known local fishing rod and tackle makers Hardy Brothers of Bondgate Without. The firm appealed on behalf of ten of its employees who were variously working as rod finishers, fly tiers, tackle makers and net makers. The firm had been very badly hit by earlier voluntarism and claimed that it had already lost almost ninety per cent of its pre-war employees and that this further loss would mean that the firm would to all intents have to close down. They argued that as Hardy Brothers was an international firm its contribution to the wartime economy of Alnwick was of vital importance and that, as it exported widely to the USA (drawing payments in gold), it was making a substantial contribution to the national war effort. Furthermore, the firm claimed that its current employees were working twelve hours per day but that they were not even covering expenses at that moment. They concluded their case by stating that the closure of the firm ‘would mean grave loss and disaster’.21 The tribunal appears to have been relatively sympathetic to this case but extemporised and granted exemption in all ten cases, but only until 3 July. The appellants immediately commented that this decision would mean that they would apply to the Appeals Tribunal. The appeal was heard by Alnwick Urban Tribunal in late July when the firm continued to appeal for nine men. The company, represented by Mr L.R. Hardy, argued once more that the work was of national importance in that it brought in funds for the government. He was also at pains to point out the firm’s fine war record. Of 88 pre-war workers 57 had voluntarily joined up, 7 had transferred to munitions factories and of those remaining workers 8 remained with Hardy Brothers but were employed solely on munitions work (the company was experienced in brass moulding work, work with other metals, and wood, and it undertook munitions work throughout the war). This, they argued, left only 16 employees working for the firm. The intractable military representative continued to argue that the work was not in fact of national importance (disregarding the fact that if the firm was forced to close it would be unable to continue its munitions work) but was told by the chairman that it would be better if the case was put before the final Appeals Tribunal.

The lack of sympathy of the tribunal members became more pronounced as it became more obvious that a massive offensive was planned in France and that the situation at the Front (because of the fighting around Verdun) was critical. In late June a meeting of the County Tribunal was held at Alnwick with one of the first cases before it being that of Mr Henry Gibson, who appealed on behalf of his second son, Ernest (19), who was employed at Cornhill as a ploughman.

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