Harrogate Herald - 9th May 1917

To Our Boys on Service

Dear Chaps,

Our latest distraction is the Budget. Tobacco is to go up 22%. I hope the rise will not effect you. The tax on excess war profits goes from 60% to 80%. I wish to goodness that did affect you, all of you, but I'm afraid excess profits with you are minus. In fact, it is all the other way. You have given up more lucrative jobs, but not a better one. The entertainment tax is raised, but not on the 1d and 2d tickets of the poorer people. That, likewise, will not affect you. There has also to be a tax on complimentary entertainment tickets. I am wondering how that will affect the Wounded Soldiers' Entertainment Committee. The Kursaal, the Opera House, and the Picture Palace all grant complimentary tickets to wounded soldiers on certain days of the week. It will be rough if those entertainment caterers have to pay for it in the form of a tax because the tickets are complimentary. This is one of the anomalies, and, of course, there are many, however wise and good the intentions of the authorities are. Touching the tobacco duty, the dealers have a way, as soon as a tax is mentioned, and before it is adopted, of putting up prices. The wine and spirit merchants before now learnt the trick. A good many people will not pay the additional 1s 10d in the lb. tax on tobacco, for they will give up smoking. In consequence of this tax, I think tobacco is charged 1½d more per ounce by the tobacconists. There is no new taxation, just the addition to the duties on those things I have mentioned.

Nearly everyone will be inclined to agree that the tax on excess profits is nothing but right. To show you there are exceptions to all rules, I will give you a case. A certain man has three businesses. On two of them he has lost considerable sums annually during the war. On the third there is excess profit. Now, he will have to pay the tax on the latter to the full, and his losses on the other two businesses will not be deducted from his excess profits on the one flourishing concern. Isn't that like "Heads I win" for the Government and "Tails you lose" for the businessman? I am not grumbling, though I am particularly interested from a financial standpoint. We ought to make any and every sacrifice to win the war, but when I say we I mean everybody, and the burden should press with proportionate weight upon all. Most of us are ready to do what the Government requires. Now, in the case of those three businesses, the income-tax authorities would set off the losses against the profits; but I don't see how it is going to be done in the case of excess profits.

By the way, one often hears a man grumbling at the total sum he has to pay in income-tax. Rather funny, isn't it, grumbling at the amount of money one has made being excessive.

I have had the Byers lads in. I wrote of one of them a short time ago. He is a petty officer, or perhaps I should say an apprentice, on a naval transport. This is W H Byers, son of our Librarian, who, I am sorry to say, has not got quite well as we all could have wished. Well, W H Byers went to sea in September on the steamer Kildale. She was torpedoed on April 12th. She had two torpedoes in her. He was also at that place on the White Sea, near Archangel, where the terrible explosion took place. It was six miles away from Archangel, yet people were killed in that town. Byers told me that Oxley, whose mother lives at 49 Dragon Avenue, was second cook on his ship; but he was wounded in the face, and is not with him now.

The older brother, Gunner Jack Byers, is in a siege battery. He was in training in Ripon for a couple of weeks, and then went south. He has not gone out yet.

Arthur Leedale, quite an old friend of mine now, has just been in to see me. He is on a destroyer, and is delighted with her. He had a stroke of luck. His leave was up within a day, when he had a telegram from his ship extending that leave three days, and this without asking. Arthur is a first-class artificer. To identify him, I must tell you that he is a son of Mr R Leedale, joiner and contractor, King's Road, and succeeded to the business carried on so many years by the late William Topham.

I have read a very interesting letter from Bob Leeming, of Harlow Hill, today, from which it appears that he is in hospital out Mesopotamia way. It is nothing serious, and he is recovering nicely. He speaks of the hot weather and the mosquitoes. It seems they have nets round the cots to keep the mosquitoes out. I hope they are more effective than the one I heard of in America, behind which a friend of mine had considerable trouble. They are very downy things, these mosquitoes, and it is marvellous, sometimes, how they can find their way inside a net. They succeeded so well on one occasion that my friend evacuated the bed and left it to the mosquitoes, whilst her slept peacefully on the floor. Bob writes very interesting letters. One thing which distinguishes them is that they are all so cheerful. He went out from the country to India, and from there to Mesopotamia. He didn't mind going to the latter place at all, but he did regret leaving his pal, the only Harrogate boy out that way, whom he had met in India.

I had a pleasant surprise today in an informal reception at my office of three wounded soldiers from St George's, all of whom I had assisted to get to Harrogate. First was Frank Allen. I called him Fred last week, but then do you wonder I get a little bit mixed with Christian names when I have so many boys? I was delighted to see Allen looking so well. The second boy was Edgar Emmerson, of Pannal, son of Mrs R Emmerson. You will call him to mind, perhaps, when I tell you that he worked for William Stott, of Beckwithshaw. Then there was G Topham, son of Mrs T Topham, Church Terrace, Bilton, whom, you will remember, I mentioned before as being in the Metropolitan Hospital, London. Topham worked for C Nettleton, contractor, Harrogate, before the war. I was sorry to hear from Topham that his brother Thomas Topham was admitted to hospital last Wednesday, suffering from septic poisoning. He had not been able to move for four days. It is in France that he is in hospital. He went out in June. Allen reminded me of one of my boys who had fallen, S Potts. It seems he was a comrade of Allen's, and when the latter was wounded he stopped to help Allen. Whilst doing so he received a wound, but not a serious one. He went to the rear, and on his way must have fallen. I am glad for Allen's sake that Potts did not meet his death, when rendering aid to his pal. These three boys were able to stop with me quite a while, so that we had a jolly chat. They are full of admiration for St George's, the matron, and the staff, and deeply impressed with the simple graciousness of the Grand Duchess. I could realise even more from the manner of these boys in expressing their gratitude than from the words. I could see in their faces the spirit of happy contentment when they even thought of St George's.

You remember that Harrogate hero, Captain Sugden, who fell doing his duty so brilliantly. Today I had the pleasure of inspecting his DSO medal which has been forwarded to his wife. One cannot help feeling how pathetic it is that he was not able to receive it himself, and at the hands of the King. When we come to think of it, boys, we know in our hearts that at the moment if his death he was possessed with the joyous consciousness of duty nobly done - a happiness far greater than any earthly reward. I had never seen a DSO medal before, and I was impressed with its beauty. As a rule medals are not much to look at, but this was an exquisite design perfect in its artistic detail. Let us always keep Sugden's memory green.

You will be delighted to know that Mrs Richardson, the amiable wife of Dr Richardson, who at one time was principal of Ashville College, is so much restored to health that she will be able to go to Blackpool to receive the benefit of invigorating sea air. You will have noticed you had not seen an appeal from her lately. Well, illness is the cause of that. I fear it was the strain of war that contributed towards her recent illness. She is, however, looking forward to renewing her efforts when quite restored. I am sure you will not forget what she has done for "Our Boys on Service".

Some of you will know J H Hodgson, a member of a firm of metal workers, whose place is back of Cheltenham Mount. He joins up, I believe, next Wednesday. Fortunately, he has worked out an invention before being obliged to join, which, I am sure, will bring him fame and fortune. It is of a nature I cannot mention to you yet, but will do so when I am free to tell.

To touch a sailor's collar is supposed to bring good luck. Bugler C Thorpe (son of Mr Charles Thorpe, of Knaresborough, and a member of the Herald Office staff), is a sailor. The other day, when coming home on leave, he was the object of a singular incident in Leeds Station. There were I don't know how many munitions girls in the station, all of whom were desirous of touching the sailor's collar, for luck. Bugler Thorpe came in to see me on Monday, and told me, amongst other things, how often he had to change his collar because so many people would touch it. the lad is on a big cruiser that has been in various parts. Thorpe is but 17 years of age (18 in July, in fact), and is much enamoured of sea life. Has been as long as seven months without touching land. Has escorted troopships, been across the Atlantic, in the Mediterranean, West Indies, and seen much. Last time I met him Thorpe was but a boy. He has grown tall, manly, and looks well. I may relate an experience which was very tantalising to the naval boys of his ship. They were following an enemy craft, which, however, went inside the three mile limit, and so was able to keep quite near our ship, which couldn't fire on them, because they were within their three mile limit. They were not allowed to remain more than 24 hours, and so Thorpe's cruiser followed them out. Followed them, did I say! No, they went almost side by side, but before the enemy got outside the three mile limit they knew they were a goner, and thus sank their own vessel. Our boys were powerless to stop them. Hard luck, wasn't it? Thorpe did not give anything away, and I did not ask anything of him that he was not free by the regulations to tell me. His ship was near Portugal the day before war was declared by that Power. Our cruiser waited outside, and had a good round-up of German ships endeavouring to escape.

Private J W Turner, whose number is 21340, is somewhere in hospital out Salonica way. As his mother does not know the address of the hospital, I am stating this fact perchance anyone should be able to give me the information for her. In the meantime I have advised her to write to her son's last address in the hope that the letters will follow him.

I told you in a recent letter that Mr John Whitehead, formerly architect of Harrogate, now of Canada, had lost his younger son in the war. I also mentioned that his only daughter, Connie Whitehead, was seriously ill. I deeply regret to have to tell you now that she has passed away at the age of 25. the family has many friends in Harrogate, who will deeply sympathise with them in their irreparable losses.

I have a letter from a Knaresborough lady in Canada, who desires to remain anonymous. Her sentiments are such, however, as to give pleasure to Knaresborians, therefore, I quote extracts from it : "Dear Sir, I am a Knaresborough girl, out in Canada, and through the kindness of friends receive the home paper, Knaresborough Post, pretty regularly. I often see the wants of soldiers in France, and I enclose two dollars for you to get something for any Harrogate or Knaresborough soldier in France. I am looking forward to paying a visit to the dear Homeland some time after the war is over. I would like to see my dear brother's name on the Knaresborough 'Roll of Honour'. He joined the Canadian Army just after the war broke out, and trained in Winnipeg. He is now back in Colbourn Military Hospital, Ontario, suffering from the effects of fever and shock. We lived around Knaresborough nearly twenty years, so, of course, we hold it dear. Do hope this letter reaches you safely, and the money will get something to gladden the heart of some poor soldier".

You will be sorry to see, dear boys, fresh deaths and casualties relating to Harrogate and district men in the Herald today. I would like to refer to them all in my letter, but, as space will not permit, I must leave you to obtain the information in other columns. I cannot, however, help saying how very much I feel for the families who have lost their dear ones. To those whose boys have been wounded I would say : be brave of heart, trust in an all-merciful Providence, and all will be well.

Can anyone supply Jack Ibbotson's address for Private James Clark?

I am off to London on Monday, and after a business day in town on Tuesday go to Cambridge for a rest, returning to Harrogate on Saturday. Shall be home, therefore, in time for you letter of next week. Sunday morning will find me at the Dictaphone.

I hope civilians, who read the foregoing sentence, will not assume that "Dictaphone" is the name of a public house!

W H Breare