Trench Lincs 23rd August 2026
- 1 day ago
- 24 min read
Email me at trenchlincs@gmail.com to become a full subscriber and receive TL each week complete with all photos.
Good Morning,
Hooray! We have had some meaningful rain at long last, and I hope we get some more, especially during the night.
I sadly attended two funerals in the last week, one was a small family affair at a parish church and the second was a high-society very formal service at Southwell Minster with a very large attendance and the service presided over by the Reverend Cannon Professor Alison Milbank – more about her later.
One of the few bonuses of attending a funeral, is the opportunity to have a nosy around the church in an effort to uncover a lost treasure of a war memorial, and oh boy!, did I hit gold this week. You can read all about it below.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
FORTHCOMING EVENTS.
Next Meeting - Lincoln & North Lincolnshire Branch, WFA – Monday 28th September 2026 - Doors open 7.00pm for 7.30pm start - Royal Naval Association Club, Coulson Road, Lincoln, LN6 7BG.
Nick Shelley presents "Motorcycle dispatch riders in 1914". – For full details see below.
Nick Shelley
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The next meeting of the Friends of the Lincoln Tank Group will be held on Thursday September 10th at the Royal Naval Association Club, Coulson Road, Lincoln, LN6 7BG at 7.30pm.
There is no speaker event in August.
Talk Title – ‘By His Majesty’s Command – The Military Cross’
Firstly – It is ordained that the Cross shall be designated “The Military Cross”.
The words are taken from a Royal Warrant dated 28th December 1914. Until then, other than the Victoria Cross (Britain’s highest award for gallantry and only awarded in exceptional circumstances), there had been no distinction available for junior officers and warrant officers who had demonstrated acts of bravery during the opening months of the First World War. But that was about to change and so came the much-needed Military Cross. By the end of the war more than 37,000 crosses had been awarded and behind each award there is a story to discover. Here, Peter Jacobs talks about the Military Cross during the First World War and the stories behind some of those awarded it.
The Speaker – Peter Jacobs
PETER JACOBS served in the Royal Air Force for thirty-seven years as an air defence navigator on the F4 Phantom and Tornado F3, after which he completed staff tours at HQ 11 Group, HQ Strike Command, the Ministry of Defence, and the RAF College Cranwell. He has written twenty-three books on military and aviation subjects, and as well as being a keen historian he has collected military medals for forty years.
Everyone welcome, especially new faces. You do not need to be a member of FoLT to attend meetings, but members of FoLT pay just £10 a year and receive £250 of membership benefits from Ancestry and the British Newspaper Archives. It is well worth joining.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Next Event - Spalding & South Lincs Branch, WFA Thursday August 27th at 7.30pm.
Spalding & South Lincolnshire Branch WFA continues to meet at the Spalding Baptist Church, Swan Street, Spalding, PE11 1BT. Meetings continue to be held in the evenings of the fourth Thursday in the month, and doors open at 19.00 hours for a 19.30 hours start. Meetings are held in a pleasant main room of the Church and there is ample - unrestricted - on street parking in front of the building. Free refreshments are served at the end of the meeting. Finally, please note that, for security purposes the main double front doors are kept locked as we cannot monitor them from our meeting room, therefore, you may need to ring the doorbell located on the single door to the right of the main double doors in order to gain entry.
Nick Shelley presents a new talk, "Motorcycle Despatch Riders i 1914", based on the book "Two Wheels to War" published by Helion in 2017, researched and written by Nick and his brother Martin.
"In 1914 the Army had just begun to mechanize the work of despatch rider signallers. So when war was declared in August 1914, urgently and at high pace, hundreds of volunteer motorcyclists, many riding their own machines, were recruited to join the BEF in France. Against all odds, they not only helped to save the BEF during the Retreat from Mons, but also helped to prevent the fall of Paris in September. Furthermore, from October 1914 they played a part in keeping the BEF intact when the opposing armies dug in across Belgium and France to create the Western Front.
Nick Shelley's talk tells the story of those 1914 motorcycle despatch riders through the eyes of just one Signals Company - the motorcyclists, officers and men of the Signals Company attached to 5th Division.
The talk originated in Nick's partnership with his brother. Martin Shelley, deeply knowledgeable about early motoring and enthusiastic about vintage vehicles, decided to research the brothers Cecil and Alick Burney. They founded a motorcycle firm in 1912, and Martin knew they were among the very first to answer the Army's call for motorcyclists by bringing motorbikes they had designed and built to the service of the Army. Less than 3 weeks after enlisting they came under fire at Mons. Between the heatwave in France in August, and the harsh Christmas weather in Flanders, 400 motorcyclists followed the Burneys to France.
Nick and Martin's research identified the Burney brothers' exact contribution to this campaign, and found much evidence about the original 12 motorcyclists attached to 5th Division, their friends and families, and their colleagues in arms. His story about them is illustrated with original photographs and documents from many sources, including letters from the front.
Just as the motorcycle despatch riders were not trained soldiers, Nick Shelley is an amateur historian. He studied English literature at Cambridge and worked with offenders as a Probation Officer for many years. Later he retrained in civil law, and for a few years before retirement had a successful legal practice dealing in legal costs, making many court appearances, either as an advocate or as an expert witness. In his spare time, he rode and tinkered with 1920's motorcycles and enjoyed researching the lives and achievements of early motoring pioneers, such as the despatch riders. The project was not only on paper - Nick and Martin built connections with many of the motorcyclist’s families, including six of their sons and daughters and other family members who shared first-hand knowledge of these men."
+++++++++++++++++++++++
The East Midlands (Nottingham) WFA branch will hold their next speaker event on Friday 11th September 2026 at 7.30pm. The branch meets at St. Peter’s Church Hall, Church Street, Ruddington, NG11 6HA and all visitors will be made very welcome.
As per Lincoln and Spalding above, the speaker on this occasion is Nick Shelley speaking about “Motorcycle Dispatch Riders in 1914.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Leadenham Military History Group’s next meeting will be on Tuesday 25th August at 7.30pm at Leadenham village hall.
There will be a two part event on this night, starting with a continuation of the Biography series.
Tim Sisson will present a biography of the 47 year career of the un-killable soldier - Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart VC.
Following the presentation there will be the Leadenham Military History Annual Quiz.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Another group who meet at the Royal Naval Club, Coulson Road, Lincoln, LN6 7BG, is the Lincolnshire Aviation Society.
The next meeting of LAS will be held on Thursday 17th September at 7.30pm.
The speaker is Sean McCabe who will speak about “The Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War 1968.”
Everyone welcome especially new faces.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Peterborough Military History Group meets at the Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery in Priestgate, Peterborough, PE1 1LF, on the second Wednesday of every month, 7.30pm to 9.30pm.
Everyone welcome, especially new faces.
September 9th Jerry Porter
'Goodnight Darling, God Bless You.'
The talk tells the story of a mother (Jerry’s great grandmother) who lost a son.
Based on a wealth of primary source letters, photos and artefacts passed down in the family, it illustrates her life on the home front, two of her sons’ preparations for deployment overseas, the younger one’s brief service in the front line and his mother’s perhaps surprising reaction to the news that he has been killed in action. It also covers her own experience of coming under enemy attack, and her visits to France in the early 1920s to visit her son’s grave.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It’s a heck of a long drive, I know because I have done it, it also involves one or two ferry journeys but a visit to the Shetland Isles is well worth it. Alternatively, you can fly into Sumburgh although internal flights to a captive audience are not cheap. However, once you are there, you will enjoy the scenery and the history, culture and heritage of the Shetlands.
Like all parts of the UK, Shetland has its own very special war time heritage and history involving both world wars and this side of life on Shetland is well worth exploring and I heartily recommend a Shetland War Tour with my good old friend in Lerwick, Jon Sandison.
Jon teaches at the Anderson High School in Lerwick, he also runs the Shetlanders on the Western Front Facebook group and having recently become a badged guide with the Guild of Battlefield Guides, Jon is now offering small group or private walking tours exploring the islands war time history.
A new web site is now in operation and I hope you will spare a minute or two to click on the site and look at the available options.
Shetland Wartime Tours - History and Military stories - Research
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
You may well want to also click on the two newsletters below from Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre and from the Sleaford and District Legionnaires Aviation Society.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Last Sunday saw a good turnout for the 2026 annual war memorial tour led once again by Mike Credland.
After leaving Lincoln, first stop was at Nettleham war memorial, which is looked after by Dave Burkitt. Here Mike gave a talk about the Hood family of Nettleham who lost four sons, one as late as 1927 due to the effects of his wounds.
The party then made the short walk to Nettleham church where one of the Hood boys’ original wooden grave markers is displayed as is their family plaque.
Returning to the cars, the party headed Sudbrooke’s St. Edward the Confessor church. Inside the church the walls are adorned with a village Roll of Honour and a fine wooden tablet remembering the men of the village who gave their lives in the Great War.
The next stop was at Scothern, which has featured heavily in Trench Lincs in recent weeks thanks to Angela White and Mark Graham. You will recall that the churchyard memorial has just been refurbished, turned through 90 degrees and been re-dedicated last month. In addition, three names have been added to the memorial, including that of Charlotte Fox, a Barnbow munitionette who was killed in a tragic explosion.
It was agreed that Charlotte’s name was a welcome addition to the memorial, but Mike warned against adding other names over 100 years later as both Harry Smalley and Howitt Wilkinson, who have been added to the Scothern memorial, appear on the Lincoln City memorial, and Mike noted that there may well have been a very good reason in the 1920s why Wilkinson and Smalley were originally omitted.
A further short drive brought the party to the very small and hidden church of St. John the Baptist at Stainton by Langworth.
Mike had arranged for the church to be open so that we could view the tablet of six names from this small agricultural hamlet, which reinforced to all present just how every community of the British Isles did its bit for the Great Cause.
Another short drive took us to Langworth war memorial at Barlings Lane Cemetery. Here the post 1945 memorial in the shape of a large rectangular upright headstone is unusual in so much as it contains more names for the second war than the first.
Next up was St. Peter and St. Paul’s church at Reepham where again fine tablets adorned the walls and included a plaque to John Elvidge who died as a POW at the hands of the Japanese in 1942. On the Great War tablet, the name of Captain T H C Woolley stood out.
Woolley was a scion of the Smith Woolley Land Agents business based at Collingham near Newark and he was killed in April 1917 serving with the 2nd/8th Sherwood Foresters after the 59th Division had arrived on the Western Front having been on garrison duties in Ireland during 1916 following the putting down of the Easter uprising.
Another short hop and we stopped at the site of the old WWII Fiskerton airfield memorial site.
Then it was onto St. Clement’s church in Fiskerton village where hang two fine wooden tablets, one for each war and there are also, further memorials to the RAF personnel who served at Fiskerton.
The penultimate stop was at Cherry Willingham, where the village war memorial is a fine pair of wooden gates marking the entrance to the churchyard. These were renewed and rededicated last year and have featured in Trench Lincs previously.
The final stop was at yet another small and partially hidden rural church, being All Saints at Greetwell. Again, I have featured this church before in TL, but on my previous visit the church was not open, but on this occasion, Mike had arranged for the door to be unlocked and so we could view and photograph the memorial tablets that adorn the walls. Of special interest is the plaque to Charles Marshall, who had emigrated to Canada before the war, joined up in Canada and sadly died in a training accident in November 1915 whilst in the UK. His body was returned to his home and he lies in All Saints churchyard next to his mother who died in January 1915.
Returning to the pub car park where we had met at 11am, there was time for a couple of pints and a chinwag to put the seal on yet another very fine outing thanks to Mike and his wonderful knowledge of the county’s memorials.
Finally, here is a picture that I took of Mike talking to the tour party from the pulpit, and I would welcome your suggestions as to a worthy caption!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
In last Sunday’s TL, thanks to Richard Godson, we covered the tale of Evander MacLeod, the only CWGC headstone in Scourie churchyard in the north of Scotland.
I mentioned that I had tried to find a photograph of Evander but without success. This prompted Maureen Connelly to try too, and she writes; ‘Thanks again for a very interesting edition of Trench Lincs. [My pleasure Maureen – Ed]
Sadly, I haven’t been able to find a photo of Evander but I did find an obituary which tells us a little more about him. He sounds like a lovely young man lost far too soon.’
Thank you Maureen, and I agree with you. He did sound like a very lovely young man.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
I know we have featured Newark’s Post Office war memorial in TL in the past, but I suspect it would be at least three or four years ago. It is not a Post Office that I use often, but last weekend, I nipped in to buy a birthday card and to re-acquaint myself with this important memorial.
This time, and without spending too much time, I thought that I would try to research the men on the memorial. As ever, the more uncommon the name, the easier it often is!
This is what I found:
Albert Andrew – 27647 Private, 17th Battalion Sherwood Foresters, son of Albert and Kate Andrew of Newark.
Percy Graves – 3436 Private 4th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers. [The only Percy or P Graves on the database – Ed]
William Gumsley – 241310 Private 5th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers. Hailed from Basford, Nottingham.
Charles H K Hogg – 7470 Air Mechanic First Class, 6 Squadron RFC. Lived at 7 Lovers Lane, Newark.
Thomas E Preston – (most likely) 50594 Sapper, 15th Signal Company, Royal Engineers.
Charles Wm Statham – 31515 Private 14th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment. Hailed from 20 Whitfield Street, Newark.
Robert Scraton – 128677 Private 47th Battalion Machine Gun Corps. Hailed from Southwell, Notts.
William H Theaker – 5441 Corporal 2nd Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment. Buried in Newark Cemetery.
William Wilkinson – (the only one to defeat me in the time that I had) There are 49 William Wilkinson’s on the CWGC database, and I noted that 2 of them served with the Sherwood Foresters.
Why don’t you pick a small memorial with 6 names or less and have a go at identifying the men named? Send me a photo and your discoveries. I look forward to hearing from you.
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
As I mentioned at the top of this edition, I attended two funerals this last week. The first was held at St. Mary the Virgin parish church in the Nottinghamshire village of Plumtree.
I arrived in plenty of time to have a mooch around the churchyard, and soon discovered the village war memorial – a typical granite Celtic cross with a Crusader sword containing a panel of names of men lost in the Great War. A second panel had been carved for the dead of the 1939-45 conflict and I noted that one additional Great War name had been added too.
Of interest from the 39-45 conflict was Captain Gareth Banting, Chaplain to No.2 Commando. I looked him up and found him to be the son of the Reverend Edgar Banting of Plumtree and he was killed by a mine whilst attempting to bury the dead whilst on active service, and he is buried in Albania. Click here.
BANTING, Gareth Bernard (Reverend) | ͏
However, inside the church, I spied two brass plaques commemorating the loss of two brothers and this was my first piece of jigsaw gold dust for the week!
As I am sure you are all aware, I have a great interest in the Second Line Territorial Sherwood Foresters who served in 59th Division and were sent to Dublin, as very inexperienced soldiers, to quell the 1916 Easter uprising. I also have a great fascination with the Kitchener New Army 6th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment who served in Gallipoli and made the famous attack at Chocolate Hill on 9th August 1915, which I wrote about two weeks ago.
Both of these incidents feature in talks that I give on the local lecture circuit – ‘The Second Line Territorials, Were They Second Rate Soldiers?’ and the ‘6th Lincolns in Gallipoli.’
One of the men who features in my Gallipoli talk is Captain Percival Leathley Browne who was killed in action at Chocolate Hill on the 9th August. Therefore, much to my amazement, I found that Percival and his elder brother Montague, were the sons of the late Reverend S B Browne of Plumtree, and as a result of their father’s service to the local church, both men have memorial plaques in St. Mary’s church – and to cap it all off, Montague died of wounds sustained in Dublin in April 1916 whilst serving with the 2nd/8th Sherwood Foresters in the fighting against the nationalist rebels. What a find, and what a coincidence.
My next sprinkling of stardust happened at Southwell Minster on Wednesday when I attended the second funeral. The deceased gentlemen, was a lawyer who worked with and for my family and business, he was also a great friend of my late father and godfather to my daughter Elizabeth.
At the end of the Minster service, I was mingling and chatting with many people who I know when I struck up a conversation with the Reverend Cannon Professor Alison Milbank. As we were standing near to the Minster war memorial, I asked her a question about Major John Becher and his brothers in Law, the Handford brothers, who we featured in Trench Lincs three weeks ago.
You will recall that they all served with the 1st/8th Sherwood Foresters and all were killed at the Hohenzollern Redoubt in October 1915, with Becher dying of his wounds on 1st January 1916.
Professor Milbank was very knowledgeable about Southwell’s war dead and she asked me if I had ever seen the Becher window. When I replied, No, she said it wasn’t available to view publicly as it resides in the Clergy Vestry and she then kindly took me in to the vestry to view and photograph the window. Pics below.
Professor Milbank then asked if I was aware of the Carey and Sons war memorial sited on the Burgage in Southwell. Again, I had to admit that I did not know of it. She kindly gave me directions and I walked to the Burgage and took this photograph.
A little research on my return home found that Carey and Sons were lace manufacturers and that the 16 names on the memorial were all employees of the company who were killed in action.
So, whilst there was a great sadness in attending funerals of two men who I have known for over 50 years, the discovery of hidden and unknown memorials goes on.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Steve Baldwin was unable to attend Mike’s memorial tour last Sunday, but went on a pilgrimage the day before and writes; ‘Although I missed Mike's tour, I did have a tour of sorts of my own, as you will find in the attached document.
You will find there are a lot of pictures included, some of which have been grouped together as I have done before.
If you wish to include it in TL, please feel free to edit it or rearrange it as you feel fit.’
As Steve’s word.doc does contain a lot of photos, I have decided to share a link for you to click on rather than me dismantle the document and download all the pics!
Click here to read of Steve’s tour to Mountsorrel in Leicestershire.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Chas Parker spotted an unusual memorial in north Norfolk, which takes the form of a pair of gates at Brancaster Golf Club, and which remembers the golf club members who served and died.
After Brancaster Chas visited Holkham, the ancestral home of Lord Leicester and his family. Their family name is Coke (pronounced Cook) and I noted that three members of the aristocratic family are on the Holkham estate and village Roll of Honour.
It is a very detailed and unusual Roll as it lists the men by the service they gave, with the Regular Army, Territorial Force, Kitchener New Army, Yeomanry and Royal Navy.
The three Coke’s are: The Viscount Thomas Coke, Captain, 3rd Battalion Scots Guards; The Honourable Roger Coke, Lieutenant Royal Navy and The Honourable Arthur George Coke, Lieutenant Royal Navy Armoured Car Division.
What happened to the Coke boys?
The Honourable Arthur was killed in Gallipoli and is remembered on the Helles Memorial, The Honourable Roger survived the war, and the eldest boy, Viscount Thomas also survived and became the 4th Earl in 1941.
Thank you Chas for these fascinating memorials.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
A week last Thursday, I took my two oldest grandsons to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight at Coningsby where we had arranged to meet up with Ian and Matt Colley.
Our tour guide, Bill Williams, was excellent and imparted a lot of knowledge to young and old alike. I knew it had been a great success the following day when I took the boys home, and I heard them regaling their father with the technical differences between the Merlin engine and the Griffon engine, and how the clipped wing MKIX Spitfire morphed into the MKXVI to combat the tighter turning circle of the Focke-Wulf 190, and how the Tallboy and Grand Slam bombs worked.
Just goes to show that if you give them the opportunities, they will soak up the knowledge.
We also had the chance to look at today’s Tornados parked up ready for action. Following the tour, we had a convivial lunch and Matt kindly treated Oliver and Samuel to a big ice cream! A most successful day out.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
ON THIS DAY – 23rd AUGUST 1914.
When the First World War began in Europe in July 1914, Japan was not initially expected to become one of the major participants. The conflict had started as a European crisis following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary, but within weeks it had developed into a much wider war. Japan entered the conflict on 23rd August 1914, when it declared war on Germany. Although Japan’s military contribution to the European fighting was relatively limited, its entry had important political, economic and strategic consequences. It also demonstrated Japan’s growing status as a major power and strengthened its position in East Asia and the Pacific.
Japan’s decision to enter the war was closely connected to the Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1902, which had been renewed in 1905 and again in 1911. The alliance was originally designed largely to protect British and Japanese interests in East Asia. Britain and Japan shared concerns about the expansion of other powers, particularly Russia, in the region. By 1914, Japan had already established itself as an important military power. Its victory over China in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95 and, more significantly, its defeat of Russia in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05 had transformed Japan’s international reputation. Japan was no longer regarded simply as an Asian country but increasingly as a modern imperial power.
When Britain declared war on Germany on 4th August 1914, the Anglo-Japanese Alliance became an important factor in Japan’s decision-making. Britain asked Japan for assistance against German naval forces operating in and around East Asia. Germany possessed a naval base at Qingdao (Tsingtao) in the Chinese province of Shandong, as well as islands and other territories in the Pacific. These German possessions presented Japan with an opportunity to expand its own influence while also helping its British ally.
Japan initially did not immediately declare war. Instead, it attempted to use the situation to protect and advance its own interests. On 15th August, Japan issued an ultimatum to Germany demanding that German naval forces leave Japanese and Chinese waters and that Germany surrender its leased territory at Qingdao. Germany rejected the demands. As a result, Japan declared war on Germany on 23rd August 1914.
The declaration was presented partly as an act of alliance with Britain and as an attempt to maintain peace and stability in East Asia. However, Japanese leaders also had clear strategic objectives of their own. Germany’s possessions in China and the Pacific represented valuable opportunities. Japan wanted to increase its influence over territories that had previously been controlled by Germany, and the war gave it a chance to strengthen its position without facing the full-scale military opposition that might otherwise have been expected.
One of Japan’s main military actions was the siege of Qingdao. Qingdao had been under German control since 1898 and was an important German naval and commercial base in East Asia. Japanese forces, supported by a small number of British troops, surrounded the German position in September 1914. After several weeks of fighting, German forces surrendered on 7th November 1914. The victory gave Japan control of the German concession in Shandong, although Japan’s subsequent demands concerning the region created serious tensions with China.
Japan also took control of several German-held islands in the Pacific. These included territories in Micronesia, such as the Mariana, Caroline and Marshall Islands. Their capture increased Japan’s strategic presence across the Pacific and provided naval bases and territory that could become important in future conflicts. Although these operations were relatively small compared with the enormous battles taking place on the Western Front, they significantly changed the balance of power in East Asia and the Pacific.
Japan’s participation in the war was therefore motivated by a combination of alliance obligations, security concerns, economic interests and imperial ambitions. The government could argue that Japan was supporting Britain and helping to defeat Germany, but there was also a strong desire to take advantage of the European powers being distracted by the war. Japan’s leaders recognised that Britain, France, Russia and Germany were committing enormous resources to fighting in Europe. This created an opportunity for Japan to strengthen its own position in Asia.
The war also produced considerable economic benefits for Japan. European countries were concentrating their industrial production on military needs, while their ability to supply international markets declined. Japanese industries therefore gained new opportunities to export goods, including textiles, machinery and other manufactured products. Japanese trade expanded rapidly during the war, contributing to economic growth. The conflict helped Japan move further towards becoming an industrial and financial power.
However, Japan’s expansion caused resentment, particularly in China. In January 1915, Japan presented China with the Twenty-One Demands, which sought to increase Japanese political and economic influence in China and to secure Japan’s control over former German interests in Shandong. China accepted many of the demands under pressure, but opposition to Japanese influence grew. The issue contributed to the development of Chinese nationalism and later helped fuel the May Fourth Movement of 1919.
Japan’s entry into the war also affected its relationship with the other Allied powers. Japan had joined Britain, France and Russia against the Central Powers, but its priorities were not always the same as those of its European allies. Japan was primarily concerned with East Asia and the Pacific rather than the Western Front. It did not send a large army to fight in France, and its contribution to the main European battlefields was therefore much smaller than that of Britain or France.
Nevertheless, Japan did provide important assistance to the Allied war effort. Japanese naval forces helped protect shipping and combat German naval activity. Japanese ships also operated in the Mediterranean later in the war, helping to escort Allied vessels and protect them from German and Austro-Hungarian submarines. These contributions demonstrated that Japan had developed a capable modern navy with the ability to operate far beyond its own shores.
Japan’s entry on 23rd August 1914 was therefore significant even though the country did not fight on the same scale as the European powers. It marked another stage in Japan’s transformation into a global power. By taking German territories in China and the Pacific, Japan expanded its empire and increased its strategic influence. At the same time, its economic position improved considerably as Japanese industries benefited from wartime demand.
In conclusion, Japan entered the First World War on 23rd August 1914 by declaring war on Germany, largely in response to its alliance with Britain and its desire to remove German influence from East Asia. However, Japan’s motives went beyond simply supporting its ally. The war provided an opportunity to expand its territory, strengthen its navy, increase its economic power and establish greater influence in China and the Pacific. The capture of Qingdao and German Pacific islands demonstrated Japan’s growing military strength. Yet its expansion also created tensions with China and contributed to longer-term disputes over Japanese imperialism. Japan’s participation in the First World War was therefore a turning point: it emerged from the conflict stronger, wealthier and more influential, but also more deeply involved in the rivalries that would shape East Asian politics for decades to come.
Ah!, I hear you say – what were the 21 Demands and the May 4th Movement of 1919?
The Twenty-One Demands were a set of demands that Japan presented to China in January 1915. Japan used its growing military and economic power to try to expand its influence in China. China eventually accepted most of them under intense pressure in May 1915, although it rejected or resisted some of the most sweeping provisions.
They were divided into five groups:
1. Shandong. China would recognise Japan's takeover of Germany's rights and privileges in Shandong, including control of former German railway and mining interests. China would also promise not to give Shandong territory to another foreign power.
2. South Manchuria & Eastern Inner Mongolia. Japan wanted to extend its leases and privileges in South Manchuria, including control over railways and greater rights for Japanese citizens to live, travel, trade and conduct business there. Japan also sought greater economic and political influence in Eastern Inner Mongolia.
3. Hanyeping Company. China was to prevent the Hanyeping Iron and Coal Company from coming under foreign control and was expected to turn it into a Sino-Japanese joint enterprise.
4. No Further Foreign Concessions. China was to agree not to lease or cede coastal ports, islands or territory to any other foreign power without Japan's consent.
5. Japanese Advisers and Political Interference. Japan demanded the right to appoint Japanese political, financial and military advisers to the Chinese government, Japanese control over China's police in important areas, and greater Japanese involvement in China's internal affairs.
Why were they so controversial?
The first four groups largely concerned Japanese economic and territorial privileges. The fifth group was much more radical: if accepted in full, it would have given Japan enormous influence over China’s government, military and internal security.
China’s President Yuan Shikai resisted the demands, particularly Group 5. Japan eventually issued an ultimatum and threatened military action. On 25th May 1915, China accepted the demands in a modified form, while refusing the most intrusive parts of Group 5.
The episode caused deep resentment in China toward Japan and contributed to the growth of Chinese nationalism. It also became an important background to the May Fourth Movement of 1919, when Chinese students protested against the post-war settlement and Japan’s continued influence in China.
The May Fourth Movement (1919) was a major Chinese nationalist and anti-imperialist movement that began with student protests in Beijing on 4th May 1919. It is one of the most important turning points in modern Chinese history.
What caused it?
The immediate trigger was the Treaty of Versailles after the First World War.
China had joined the Allies during WWI and expected that the former German territories in Shandong would be returned to China. Instead, the peace settlement awarded Germany’s former rights in Shandong to Japan.
This was especially shocking because Japan had gained those rights partly through the Twenty-One Demands of 1915, and no account was taken of the great input of the workforce of the Chinese Labour Corps to the Allied victory.
Chinese students felt that their government had been humiliated and that the Western powers had betrayed China’s interests.
What happened on 4th May?
On 4th May 1919, thousands of students demonstrated in Beijing.
They protested against:
The Treaty of Versailles and the transfer of Shandong to Japan
Japanese imperialism in China
The weakness and corruption of the Chinese government
Foreign interference in China
The demonstrations soon spread beyond Beijing. Workers, merchants and other groups joined strikes and boycotts of Japanese goods.
The protests put enormous pressure on the Chinese government. China ultimately refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles—the only major Allied power not to sign it.
More importantly, the movement produced a much broader intellectual and cultural transformation.
The New Culture Movement, which had already been developing, gained momentum. Intellectuals called for:
Democracy and science
Modern education
Greater equality for women
Rejection of traditional Confucian social structures
Use of vernacular Chinese rather than highly classical literary Chinese
National independence and resistance to imperialism
Why is it historically important?
The May Fourth Movement helped create a new generation of Chinese political activists and intellectuals. Among those influenced by the period was Mao Zedong, and the movement contributed to the spread of Marxism and Communism in China.
The Chinese Communist Party was founded in 1921, only two years after the May Fourth protests.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We finish this week with another colourised photo and a biography courtesy of Colour by CJS.
Private Lancelot Graham Harris
Lancelot was born in Lymington, Hampshire in 1894, after his father had lived and worked as a coffee planter in India.
Lancelot was educated at Denstone College and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. Whilst at University he joined the Officers Training Corps and was an excellent marksman.
Like many young men of his age, he enrolled in the Army within days of the declaration of war in August 1914, and deployed to France as part of 1st Battalion, The Honourable Artillery Company on 19th September 1914.
The battalion spent the winter and spring being rotated in and out of the front line around Ypres.
They fought in the 2nd Battle of Ypres (22nd April – 25th May 1915) and Lancelot was severely injured by shell fire on 27th April, and died of his wounds the following day.
He had made a big impression on his platoon commander who wrote about him in a letter to his father.
“I am very sorry to say they killed a young fellow called Harris, one of the old stagers of St. Nazaire. He was frail looking and slim, and quite a boy, with an almost girlish face, but had the spirit of a bulldog and the soul of a saint. The grit with which he stuck the hardships of the winter, and his continual cheeriness and helping of others, when he was almost done up himself, used to make me proud to be in the regiment with him. When a spirit of such temper as that of young Harris is lost from among us, I tell you it leaves a very big gap indeed.”
Lancelot Harris was 20 years old and today he lies in La Clytte Military Cemetery.
+++++++++++++++++++++
In Memoriam the Lincolnshire Regiment 23rd August.
1915
14159 Lance Corporal Herbert Peach, 1st Battalion, aged 21. Remembered on the Menin Gate, Belgium.
15489 Private Arthur Benjamin Nicholls, 1st Battalion. – Ditto. –
12918 Private Charles Lancaster, 7th Battalion, aged 19. Buried in Voormezeele Enclosure No. 3, Belgium.
7926 Private E W Gray, 1st Battalion. Buried in Hooge Crater Cemetery, Belgium.
1365 Private Charles Barber, 4th Battalion, aged 20. Buried in Sanctuary Wood Cemetery, Belgium.
2419 Private Richard Trail, 4th Battalion, aged 20. – Ditto. –
1916
5434 Private H Blundy, 1st Battalion, aged 21. Buried in Faubourg d’Amiens Cemetery, France.
8311 Private G Stevenson, 1st Battalion, aged 35. Buried in Kegworth Churchyard, UK.
1917
40729 Private Thomas Gough, 6th Battalion, aged 32. Buried in Dozinghem Military Cemetery, Belgium.
1918
53074 Private Percy Cole, 1st Battalion, aged 19. Buried in Bagneux British Cemetery, France.
57489 Private J Marland, 1st Battalion. – Ditto. –
38229 Private C W Chappell, 1st Battalion. Buried in Glageon Communal Cemetery Extension, France.
14611 Corporal Claude Buck, 8th Battalion, aged 21. Buried in Bienvillers Military Cemetery, France.
51770 Private H Farrant, 2nd Battalion. Buried in Queen’s Cemetery, France.
201467 Private C Gresswell, 2nd Battalion. – Ditto. –
12924 Corporal Charles Herbert Fletcher, 7th Battalion, aged 23. Buried in Mont Huon Military Cemetery, France.
1920
19550 Private J Smith, Depot, aged 51. Buried in Coseley Old Churchyard, UK.
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
I should be pleased to hear from you with your stories and questions.
Until next week,
All best wishes
Jonathan
© Jonathan D’Hooghe
Comments