British History Online has published old Ordnance Survey Maps online. To view a 1:10860 map originally published in 1881 for Essex go to: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/map.aspx?compid=55117
For the Blackmore Area Local History region see:
Blackmore (southern portion of parish – Hook End, Wyatts Green - and south west to include Shenfield, Doddinghurst, Stondon Massey (south)): http://www.british-history.ac.uk/mapsheet.aspx?sheetid=3287&compid=55117
Blackmore (northern end of parish – the ancient village – and north west to include High Ongar, Norton Mandeville, Stondon Massey (north), Willingale)
South east of Blackmore (to include Fryerning, Ingatestone, Mountnessing) http://www.british-history.ac.uk/mapsheet.aspx?sheetid=3288&compid=55117
North east of Blackmore (to include Highwood, Writtle): http://www.british-history.ac.uk/mapsheet.aspx?sheetid=3280&compid=55117
Showing posts with label Hook End. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hook End. Show all posts
Friday, 27 February 2009
Friday, 22 August 2008
Blackmore: Bombs Over Blackmore
Memorials are a common feature in church stained glass windows. At the Priory Church of St Laurence, Blackmore, many of the windows date from the first two decades of the twentieth century.
An unusual record is on one, in what is now the kitchen: “This window is erected as a thank-offering to Almighty God for the protection in the Great Air Raid of March 31st 1916”.
Curious to find out more, I looked at local newspapers for the time and visited the Essex Record Office.
During the First World War, civilians were subjected to indiscriminate bombing from Zeppelins from large airships which flew at high altitudes and later from attack by aeroplane. In all there were 53 separate Zeppelin raids on England, twenty in Essex, which then had army and naval garrisons at Harwich, Colchester and Southend, and docks along the River Thames.
This action was deliberately designed by the enemy to strike fear and to destroy morale. The country was unprepared for air attack and redoubled efforts to defend and counter-attack. Bombing civilians was an entirely new form of warfare and received outrage from the British people.
The night of 31st March 1916 was to be one of the greatest in terms of civilian casualties. In Lincolnshire, East Suffolk, Ipswich and Essex, 223 bombs were dropped killing 48 and injuring 64 people. The L14 and L15 flew over Essex, dropping bombs in Colchester, Braintree, Stanford-le-Hope, Thameshaven and Blackmore [ERO T/Z 473/1]. Four civilians were killed in Martin’s Yard, Braintree by bombs dropped from the L14. Revd. Andrew Clark, Rector of Great Leighs, wrote in his Diary that the raiders had heard the town church clock strike eleven, “realised that they were over a town of some sort, and threw out three bombs by chance” [Munson, p121].
Reporting restrictions at the time prevented newspapers giving precise locations. The Essex Weekly News referred to “Friday’s Attack On The Eastern Counties”. No one was killed or injured in Blackmore, but there could have been a few near misses.
Revd Edward Reeve, Rector of the neighbouring village of Stondon Massey, wrote of the events in his ‘notes for a parish history’: “With the moonless nights and the still weather which has succeeded the wintry storms a succession of air-craft raids began. On March 31 five “Zeppelin” airships visited the Eastern Counties. One of them was heard over Stondon in the direction of Woolwich at 10.20pm, but we were destined to have a closer acquaintance with another of the group at a later hour. At 11.45 a Zeppelin dropped a series of bombs at the point where is the junction of Stondon with the parishes of Blackmore and Kelvedon Hatch: within easy distance of Soap House Farm. A machine-gun had been lately established at Kelvedon Hatch to watch for the raiders, and Capt. Hulton in charge claims to have hit the air-ship, causing it to drop the bombs hurriedly.”
Revd. Andrew Clark in Great Leighs, some fourteen miles north east of Blackmore, wrote, “11.50pm. several explosions in the south, followed by lights (probably searchlights)” [Munson p120].
Reeve continued, “Large numbers of persons from Brentwood and the surrounding district visited the spot next day, and the large craters caused by the bombs, some 15 feet in diameter and varying from 3 to 9 feet in depth, were the astonishment of all. The whole saucer-like cavities were left entirely clean by the explosion, and one local builder Mr J T Gann remarked there was no trace anywhere of the large body of earth which had been scooped out by the force of the bomb. Clods torn from the craters were sprinkled to a distance of 60 yards. Nine of the thirteen holes were quickly found: and fortunately no life was lost or building injured. All had fallen in open fields. Our windows at Stondon Rectory were violently shaken and considerable alarm was naturally caused. We in the close neighbourhood have much for which to be deeply grateful to an over-ruling Providence.”
Five days later (6th April 1916) Reeve added, “Further enquiry shows that the bombs dropped on March 31st fell between the Soap House and the corner of Blackmore between the Church and Miss Barrett’s house. Two were dropped in the lane near the site of the old Blackmore Mill. The remaining holes were to be found in a straight-line across the fields to Miss Barrett’s at very short intervals. Many panes of glass were broken in the house by the concussion” [ERO T/P 188/3].
In terms of location, the bombs were dropped over Hook End near Blackmore House, Mill Lane then fields not more than half a mile to the east of Blackmore village itself.
The night marked a turning point for the allies because L15 was the first Zeppelin to be shot down during the War. The Anti-Aircraft gunners of the 3rd Company, Essex and Suffolk Royal Garrison Artillery based at Purfleet were credited with the success. This was a major breakthrough, and the Lord Mayor of London gave gold watches to the members of the gun crew. (He had originally put up a reward of £500). An eyewitness recorded, “It was about 12.15am on April 1st 1916 that she came across Essex from north east at a height of about 14000 feet … shrapnel shells [were fired] at the raider” [ERO D/DS 200/7]. An aeroplane failed to hit the target. The Zeppelin “dropped into the sea [near Margate] and sunk while being towed to land. Seventeen members of the crew were rescued and are prisoners of war at Chatham Barracks” [Essex Weekly News: 7 April 1916]. The news must have travelled fast because Robert Taylor Bull, of Burnham, recorded in his diary the following day, “A Zeppelin was brought down at Thameshaven”. On 1st April he wrote: “A Zepp went over last night about 9 … with usual noise” [ERO T/S 245].
During September 1916, two Zeppelins were intercepted by members of the Royal Flying Corps at Billericay and Wigborough, marking the beginning of the end of the raids. Inside the church at Great Wigborough there is a small part of what remains of L33.
Bibliography
Clark, Revd Andrew (edited James Munson). Echoes of the Great War (Oxford, 1985)
Morris, Captain Joseph. The German Air Raids on Great Britain 1914 – 1918 (Nonsuch, 2007). First published 1925.
An unusual record is on one, in what is now the kitchen: “This window is erected as a thank-offering to Almighty God for the protection in the Great Air Raid of March 31st 1916”.
Curious to find out more, I looked at local newspapers for the time and visited the Essex Record Office.
During the First World War, civilians were subjected to indiscriminate bombing from Zeppelins from large airships which flew at high altitudes and later from attack by aeroplane. In all there were 53 separate Zeppelin raids on England, twenty in Essex, which then had army and naval garrisons at Harwich, Colchester and Southend, and docks along the River Thames.
This action was deliberately designed by the enemy to strike fear and to destroy morale. The country was unprepared for air attack and redoubled efforts to defend and counter-attack. Bombing civilians was an entirely new form of warfare and received outrage from the British people.
The night of 31st March 1916 was to be one of the greatest in terms of civilian casualties. In Lincolnshire, East Suffolk, Ipswich and Essex, 223 bombs were dropped killing 48 and injuring 64 people. The L14 and L15 flew over Essex, dropping bombs in Colchester, Braintree, Stanford-le-Hope, Thameshaven and Blackmore [ERO T/Z 473/1]. Four civilians were killed in Martin’s Yard, Braintree by bombs dropped from the L14. Revd. Andrew Clark, Rector of Great Leighs, wrote in his Diary that the raiders had heard the town church clock strike eleven, “realised that they were over a town of some sort, and threw out three bombs by chance” [Munson, p121].
Reporting restrictions at the time prevented newspapers giving precise locations. The Essex Weekly News referred to “Friday’s Attack On The Eastern Counties”. No one was killed or injured in Blackmore, but there could have been a few near misses.
Revd Edward Reeve, Rector of the neighbouring village of Stondon Massey, wrote of the events in his ‘notes for a parish history’: “With the moonless nights and the still weather which has succeeded the wintry storms a succession of air-craft raids began. On March 31 five “Zeppelin” airships visited the Eastern Counties. One of them was heard over Stondon in the direction of Woolwich at 10.20pm, but we were destined to have a closer acquaintance with another of the group at a later hour. At 11.45 a Zeppelin dropped a series of bombs at the point where is the junction of Stondon with the parishes of Blackmore and Kelvedon Hatch: within easy distance of Soap House Farm. A machine-gun had been lately established at Kelvedon Hatch to watch for the raiders, and Capt. Hulton in charge claims to have hit the air-ship, causing it to drop the bombs hurriedly.”
Revd. Andrew Clark in Great Leighs, some fourteen miles north east of Blackmore, wrote, “11.50pm. several explosions in the south, followed by lights (probably searchlights)” [Munson p120].
Reeve continued, “Large numbers of persons from Brentwood and the surrounding district visited the spot next day, and the large craters caused by the bombs, some 15 feet in diameter and varying from 3 to 9 feet in depth, were the astonishment of all. The whole saucer-like cavities were left entirely clean by the explosion, and one local builder Mr J T Gann remarked there was no trace anywhere of the large body of earth which had been scooped out by the force of the bomb. Clods torn from the craters were sprinkled to a distance of 60 yards. Nine of the thirteen holes were quickly found: and fortunately no life was lost or building injured. All had fallen in open fields. Our windows at Stondon Rectory were violently shaken and considerable alarm was naturally caused. We in the close neighbourhood have much for which to be deeply grateful to an over-ruling Providence.”
Five days later (6th April 1916) Reeve added, “Further enquiry shows that the bombs dropped on March 31st fell between the Soap House and the corner of Blackmore between the Church and Miss Barrett’s house. Two were dropped in the lane near the site of the old Blackmore Mill. The remaining holes were to be found in a straight-line across the fields to Miss Barrett’s at very short intervals. Many panes of glass were broken in the house by the concussion” [ERO T/P 188/3].
In terms of location, the bombs were dropped over Hook End near Blackmore House, Mill Lane then fields not more than half a mile to the east of Blackmore village itself.
The night marked a turning point for the allies because L15 was the first Zeppelin to be shot down during the War. The Anti-Aircraft gunners of the 3rd Company, Essex and Suffolk Royal Garrison Artillery based at Purfleet were credited with the success. This was a major breakthrough, and the Lord Mayor of London gave gold watches to the members of the gun crew. (He had originally put up a reward of £500). An eyewitness recorded, “It was about 12.15am on April 1st 1916 that she came across Essex from north east at a height of about 14000 feet … shrapnel shells [were fired] at the raider” [ERO D/DS 200/7]. An aeroplane failed to hit the target. The Zeppelin “dropped into the sea [near Margate] and sunk while being towed to land. Seventeen members of the crew were rescued and are prisoners of war at Chatham Barracks” [Essex Weekly News: 7 April 1916]. The news must have travelled fast because Robert Taylor Bull, of Burnham, recorded in his diary the following day, “A Zeppelin was brought down at Thameshaven”. On 1st April he wrote: “A Zepp went over last night about 9 … with usual noise” [ERO T/S 245].
During September 1916, two Zeppelins were intercepted by members of the Royal Flying Corps at Billericay and Wigborough, marking the beginning of the end of the raids. Inside the church at Great Wigborough there is a small part of what remains of L33.
Bibliography
Clark, Revd Andrew (edited James Munson). Echoes of the Great War (Oxford, 1985)
Morris, Captain Joseph. The German Air Raids on Great Britain 1914 – 1918 (Nonsuch, 2007). First published 1925.
Friday, 15 August 2008
Revd Edward Reeve. Chronicler of The Great War
Edward Henry Lisle Reeve (1858 - 1936) was Rector of Stondon Massey in Essex from 1893 until 1935. In his spare time he researched and published from 1900 what many regard as a model parish history. His last volume was published in 1914, on the eve of the First World War.
While researching for an historical event at Stondon Church (‘Through Changing Scenes’ – see earlier entries on this blog), I discovered that Reeve did not stop recording events in his parish on publication of his work but kept notes through to 1929. (His notes are held in Essex Record Office: ERO T/P 188/3). We therefore have a fascinating and unique local insight to the First World War (1914 – 18) as events unfolded.
Reeve lived with his sisters at the Rectory (now Stondon Massey House) where he penned the local history. I understand that his father, whom he succeeded as Rector, forbade him and his sisters to marry. He died, a bachelor, in 1936.
On Tuesday, 4th August 1914 at 11pm Great Britain declared War on Germany. Very quickly soldiers were called to arms. With an invasion of England anticipated Reeve wrote in October that, “Artillery and Engineer Officers have been busily surveying the district during the past three weeks with the purpose, I believe, of deciding on the best method of obstructing a possible raid on London. An outer line of defence appears to run through Ongar, Stondon and Doddinghurst: and my little field has received attention. Field guns I think would, on necessity, be brought here, and would range eastward in the direction of Chelmsford”.
In November Reeve observed that, “It would hardly be too much to say that Stondon is becoming honeycombed with trenches, and the Church, owing to its being set upon a hill, is a prominent centre. The slopes declining from the Hall to the brook contain a network of passages, giving shelter to riflemen who will give, if necessary, a stern reception to the enemy coming down the opposite hill from Paslow Common. Flanking trenches face toward the Rectory, while others are taken southward along the course of the brook to the village. In adjacent parishes the same work is observable. On the slopes of High Ongar, and on the confines of Blackmore and Doddinghurst towards Swallows Cross bodies of men are busily engaged”.
Huge numbers of men were billeted in Stondon and the neighbourhood. “Some 600 navvies arrived on the morning of November 2nd, some by railway to Ongar, and some by road in motor omnibuses. The plan being somewhat unexpectedly adopted, little or no preparation had been made in the locality for the reception of the men. Some 400 were to commence work at once in Stondon. In the event, at the cost of considerable discomfort, the first few days were successfully surmounted and then tents were erected here and there for the accommodation of the men, or they contrived to find themselves temporary billets. A canteen was put up at Brook’s and Cannons Farm, which to some degree supplied the place of shops. This was afterward moved to a centre at Hooks End, Blackmore. The appearance of a canteen was hailed with delight by the villagers, publican, and all: for it was becoming a real difficulty to know how to meet the wants of the invaders”.
December’s rains caused the trenches to become saturated and caved in. A different strategy was adopted in early 1915 due to the changed nature of warfare in France. “A Guardsman whom I met lately told me that constantly our trenches in France had been no more than 30 or 40 paces distant to those of the enemy: and it had been possible to throw hand-grenades from one to the other. My Guardsman acquaintance told me that Germany is a beaten nation; and it is recognised that an invasion in force becomes daily less likely”.
We know the War to be far more protracted than thought at the time. Men up and down the country joined. Reeve comments in July 1915, when 44 year-old Ernest Baines signs up, that “he hopes that his example may lead some of the single men who are still holding back to come forward and enlist. So far the Government have procured the services of a vast army without conscription”.
Looking in retrospect, we know that conscription was introduced in 1916 and the events of the Somme caused a tremendous loss of life: the Government deliberately understating the number killed or wounded. Reeve describes the opening day of the Somme offensive (1st July 1916) thus: “As I write, the reverberation of the great guns and explosion of mines are shaking the windows of the Rectory and of all the other houses, I suppose, in the southern and south-eastern counties of England. There is evidently a very heavy bombardment in progress”.
In his privileged position as community leader Reeve learns of letters home to families. Reading his notes one wonders whether this was a cathartic release of all he had learnt. We learn the names and professions of the men of Stondon who went to War. For example, “Mr John White, lately serving as butler and valet at Stondon Place is with the Fusiliers and writing to his wife reports that he is well so far but that a party to which he belonged were lately all but “wiped out”, two officers being killed out of four, and two wounded. This is an astonishing experience for a man not fashioned for a soldier’s life either physically or in temperament”. The gardener at the Rectory, William Penson, was “drafted from Gosfield to Wendover where he will join a class for practice in “bombing and bayoneting”! Strange work for a peaceful citizen!” In all, six Stondon men were killed in the War including three Hasler brothers. Two of the men died after the end of hostilities from the effects of gas inhalation.
The “enemy” never made an assault on England on the ground, but carried out a number of air raids, firstly by Zeppelin and later by aeroplane. Reeve describes these in some detail.
“On August 17th [1915] at 10.15pm a Zeppelin was heard overhead, making its way from the coast in the direction of London. It passed apparently over that part of Stondon which lies nearest Paslow Common, and made its way over Stanford Rivers and Leytonstone. There a number of bombs were dropped, killing five persons, and doing extensive damage to property. On the return journey, about 11.45pm, a vessel with fuse, containing petrol, was dropped in the fields lying between Hallsford and High Ongar, not far from Castle Farm at Ongar. Expert opinion inclines to think that this was not a “bomb”, but a petrol can being dropped by accident from the Zeppelin. Under the supervision of experts the liquid contained in the vessel was burned on the spot.”
Reeve also saw the craters of bombs which were dropped over Blackmore on 31st March 1916. He provides the location of the dropped bombs: “between the Soap House and the corner of Blackmore between the Church and Miss Barrett’s house” (see entry ‘Bombs Over Blackmore’).
As allies gained air supremacy there was success in defence from attacks. Reeve, on 3rd September 1916, witnessed the end of the Zeppelin shot down over Cuffley as the “whole sky for miles around was illuminated with a pink glow which grew brighter and more brilliant as the vessel neared the earth in her fall of some 2½ miles”; and the aftermath of another at Great Burstead (23rd September 1916) when “the numbers of sight-seers was so great that it was difficult, even on foot, to get within distance”.
Reeve witnessed the daylight air raid of 13th June 1917 on London which killed 162 civilians, the highest death toll from a single air raid during the whole war. “They came over Stondon from the North East at a great height, so as to be practically out of view. Some, however, saw three, and some as many as ten, like little glittering silver fish against the blue sky. They filled the air with a rumbling as a huge traction engine. About ten minutes after their passing over our heads we heard the bombs dropping in the direction of London, and the visitors shaped a more southerly course, and the droning died away in the direction of Rochford and Southend. It was possible, however, as they swerved round on their return journey, to hear the quick firing of machine guns, indicating that a struggle was proceeding at great height between the invaders and our gallant airmen.
“The accounts tell us that many lives were lost through the raid, and many terrible injuries inflicted. A Stondon woman (Mrs Skinner) and her child were travelling to London that day, and, with other passengers, brought back word of sad scenes in the Great Eastern Company’s terminus at Liverpool Street. One or two trains narrowly escaped wreckage, and in one at least several persons were killed. It is felt that every effort must be made to give timely warning of such visits in the future, and to prevent the concourse of persons in the streets”.
Reeve also saw the aid raid over London on 7th July 1917 which official reports said killed 57 and injured 193 people. “A few minutes past ten (summer time) this morning a Fleet of hostile aeroplanes was heard approaching from the East, and at 10.30 they were in our near neighbourhood. I counted 24 myself, flying compactly, and very much remembering a body of rooks flying westward towards Kelvedon Hall on an autumn evening. The German aeroplanes appeared from the Rectory to extend from ourselves towards Kelvedon Hatch and Stanford Rivers. They flew unopposed till apparently over North Weald and Epping when firing commenced, and seemed to scatter the formation. They rallied however, and then appeared to make rapidly westward, over the Loughton and Chigwell district for N London. The firing and bomb-throwing circled more and more to the south until at last the fleet was again visible over the Romford quarter, and the sound of machine guns was plainly audible. The aeroplanes were now at a much greater distance. They were lost in the haze, in little over ¾ hour from their first appearance, as they vanished in the direction of the mouth of the river Thames and Southend.”
Eventually the might of the Americans was brought to bear and the War, which seemed “a draw” in 1917, according to sportsman Capt. Fred Fane, ceased with an Armistice on 11th November 1918. In days before radio, the village learnt of events by “the hooting of sirens and the noise of maroons. Some in Stondon heard the distinct bells at Brentwood. But it was not till the afternoon that definite tidings reached the villages and then it filtered through chiefly the form of private messages. News came to Stondon that flags were being hoisted on the Military Hospital at Ongar, and that the veteran Field-Marshall Sir Evelyn Wood VC had visited the place and communicated the splendid message to the wounded men. As soon as I had this official intelligence the Stondon Church bells were chimed with all the old vigour by Ernest Baines, our sometime sexton”. In one sense the War was over.
The book, 'Revd E H L Reeve: Chronicler of the Great War' (64 pages) may be purchased, price £1.50, from the bookstall at Priory Church of St Laurence, Blackmore; St Peter & St Paul Church, Stondon Massey (on open afternoons); and, Megarry's antique shop, The Green, Blackmore. Alternatively, to purchase via the website E mail the contact address.
While researching for an historical event at Stondon Church (‘Through Changing Scenes’ – see earlier entries on this blog), I discovered that Reeve did not stop recording events in his parish on publication of his work but kept notes through to 1929. (His notes are held in Essex Record Office: ERO T/P 188/3). We therefore have a fascinating and unique local insight to the First World War (1914 – 18) as events unfolded.
Reeve lived with his sisters at the Rectory (now Stondon Massey House) where he penned the local history. I understand that his father, whom he succeeded as Rector, forbade him and his sisters to marry. He died, a bachelor, in 1936.
On Tuesday, 4th August 1914 at 11pm Great Britain declared War on Germany. Very quickly soldiers were called to arms. With an invasion of England anticipated Reeve wrote in October that, “Artillery and Engineer Officers have been busily surveying the district during the past three weeks with the purpose, I believe, of deciding on the best method of obstructing a possible raid on London. An outer line of defence appears to run through Ongar, Stondon and Doddinghurst: and my little field has received attention. Field guns I think would, on necessity, be brought here, and would range eastward in the direction of Chelmsford”.
In November Reeve observed that, “It would hardly be too much to say that Stondon is becoming honeycombed with trenches, and the Church, owing to its being set upon a hill, is a prominent centre. The slopes declining from the Hall to the brook contain a network of passages, giving shelter to riflemen who will give, if necessary, a stern reception to the enemy coming down the opposite hill from Paslow Common. Flanking trenches face toward the Rectory, while others are taken southward along the course of the brook to the village. In adjacent parishes the same work is observable. On the slopes of High Ongar, and on the confines of Blackmore and Doddinghurst towards Swallows Cross bodies of men are busily engaged”.
Huge numbers of men were billeted in Stondon and the neighbourhood. “Some 600 navvies arrived on the morning of November 2nd, some by railway to Ongar, and some by road in motor omnibuses. The plan being somewhat unexpectedly adopted, little or no preparation had been made in the locality for the reception of the men. Some 400 were to commence work at once in Stondon. In the event, at the cost of considerable discomfort, the first few days were successfully surmounted and then tents were erected here and there for the accommodation of the men, or they contrived to find themselves temporary billets. A canteen was put up at Brook’s and Cannons Farm, which to some degree supplied the place of shops. This was afterward moved to a centre at Hooks End, Blackmore. The appearance of a canteen was hailed with delight by the villagers, publican, and all: for it was becoming a real difficulty to know how to meet the wants of the invaders”.
December’s rains caused the trenches to become saturated and caved in. A different strategy was adopted in early 1915 due to the changed nature of warfare in France. “A Guardsman whom I met lately told me that constantly our trenches in France had been no more than 30 or 40 paces distant to those of the enemy: and it had been possible to throw hand-grenades from one to the other. My Guardsman acquaintance told me that Germany is a beaten nation; and it is recognised that an invasion in force becomes daily less likely”.
We know the War to be far more protracted than thought at the time. Men up and down the country joined. Reeve comments in July 1915, when 44 year-old Ernest Baines signs up, that “he hopes that his example may lead some of the single men who are still holding back to come forward and enlist. So far the Government have procured the services of a vast army without conscription”.
Looking in retrospect, we know that conscription was introduced in 1916 and the events of the Somme caused a tremendous loss of life: the Government deliberately understating the number killed or wounded. Reeve describes the opening day of the Somme offensive (1st July 1916) thus: “As I write, the reverberation of the great guns and explosion of mines are shaking the windows of the Rectory and of all the other houses, I suppose, in the southern and south-eastern counties of England. There is evidently a very heavy bombardment in progress”.
In his privileged position as community leader Reeve learns of letters home to families. Reading his notes one wonders whether this was a cathartic release of all he had learnt. We learn the names and professions of the men of Stondon who went to War. For example, “Mr John White, lately serving as butler and valet at Stondon Place is with the Fusiliers and writing to his wife reports that he is well so far but that a party to which he belonged were lately all but “wiped out”, two officers being killed out of four, and two wounded. This is an astonishing experience for a man not fashioned for a soldier’s life either physically or in temperament”. The gardener at the Rectory, William Penson, was “drafted from Gosfield to Wendover where he will join a class for practice in “bombing and bayoneting”! Strange work for a peaceful citizen!” In all, six Stondon men were killed in the War including three Hasler brothers. Two of the men died after the end of hostilities from the effects of gas inhalation.
The “enemy” never made an assault on England on the ground, but carried out a number of air raids, firstly by Zeppelin and later by aeroplane. Reeve describes these in some detail.
“On August 17th [1915] at 10.15pm a Zeppelin was heard overhead, making its way from the coast in the direction of London. It passed apparently over that part of Stondon which lies nearest Paslow Common, and made its way over Stanford Rivers and Leytonstone. There a number of bombs were dropped, killing five persons, and doing extensive damage to property. On the return journey, about 11.45pm, a vessel with fuse, containing petrol, was dropped in the fields lying between Hallsford and High Ongar, not far from Castle Farm at Ongar. Expert opinion inclines to think that this was not a “bomb”, but a petrol can being dropped by accident from the Zeppelin. Under the supervision of experts the liquid contained in the vessel was burned on the spot.”
Reeve also saw the craters of bombs which were dropped over Blackmore on 31st March 1916. He provides the location of the dropped bombs: “between the Soap House and the corner of Blackmore between the Church and Miss Barrett’s house” (see entry ‘Bombs Over Blackmore’).
As allies gained air supremacy there was success in defence from attacks. Reeve, on 3rd September 1916, witnessed the end of the Zeppelin shot down over Cuffley as the “whole sky for miles around was illuminated with a pink glow which grew brighter and more brilliant as the vessel neared the earth in her fall of some 2½ miles”; and the aftermath of another at Great Burstead (23rd September 1916) when “the numbers of sight-seers was so great that it was difficult, even on foot, to get within distance”.
Reeve witnessed the daylight air raid of 13th June 1917 on London which killed 162 civilians, the highest death toll from a single air raid during the whole war. “They came over Stondon from the North East at a great height, so as to be practically out of view. Some, however, saw three, and some as many as ten, like little glittering silver fish against the blue sky. They filled the air with a rumbling as a huge traction engine. About ten minutes after their passing over our heads we heard the bombs dropping in the direction of London, and the visitors shaped a more southerly course, and the droning died away in the direction of Rochford and Southend. It was possible, however, as they swerved round on their return journey, to hear the quick firing of machine guns, indicating that a struggle was proceeding at great height between the invaders and our gallant airmen.
“The accounts tell us that many lives were lost through the raid, and many terrible injuries inflicted. A Stondon woman (Mrs Skinner) and her child were travelling to London that day, and, with other passengers, brought back word of sad scenes in the Great Eastern Company’s terminus at Liverpool Street. One or two trains narrowly escaped wreckage, and in one at least several persons were killed. It is felt that every effort must be made to give timely warning of such visits in the future, and to prevent the concourse of persons in the streets”.
Reeve also saw the aid raid over London on 7th July 1917 which official reports said killed 57 and injured 193 people. “A few minutes past ten (summer time) this morning a Fleet of hostile aeroplanes was heard approaching from the East, and at 10.30 they were in our near neighbourhood. I counted 24 myself, flying compactly, and very much remembering a body of rooks flying westward towards Kelvedon Hall on an autumn evening. The German aeroplanes appeared from the Rectory to extend from ourselves towards Kelvedon Hatch and Stanford Rivers. They flew unopposed till apparently over North Weald and Epping when firing commenced, and seemed to scatter the formation. They rallied however, and then appeared to make rapidly westward, over the Loughton and Chigwell district for N London. The firing and bomb-throwing circled more and more to the south until at last the fleet was again visible over the Romford quarter, and the sound of machine guns was plainly audible. The aeroplanes were now at a much greater distance. They were lost in the haze, in little over ¾ hour from their first appearance, as they vanished in the direction of the mouth of the river Thames and Southend.”
Eventually the might of the Americans was brought to bear and the War, which seemed “a draw” in 1917, according to sportsman Capt. Fred Fane, ceased with an Armistice on 11th November 1918. In days before radio, the village learnt of events by “the hooting of sirens and the noise of maroons. Some in Stondon heard the distinct bells at Brentwood. But it was not till the afternoon that definite tidings reached the villages and then it filtered through chiefly the form of private messages. News came to Stondon that flags were being hoisted on the Military Hospital at Ongar, and that the veteran Field-Marshall Sir Evelyn Wood VC had visited the place and communicated the splendid message to the wounded men. As soon as I had this official intelligence the Stondon Church bells were chimed with all the old vigour by Ernest Baines, our sometime sexton”. In one sense the War was over.
The book, 'Revd E H L Reeve: Chronicler of the Great War' (64 pages) may be purchased, price £1.50, from the bookstall at Priory Church of St Laurence, Blackmore; St Peter & St Paul Church, Stondon Massey (on open afternoons); and, Megarry's antique shop, The Green, Blackmore. Alternatively, to purchase via the website E mail the contact address.
Andrew Smith
Saturday, 1 March 2008
BLACKMORE HISTORY NEWS - March 2008
Following the success of ‘Through Changing Scenes’ at Blackmore, it’s Stondon Massey’s turn on Saturday 19th April, starting at 7.30pm. St Peter and St Paul Church (see photograph) will echo again to the words of their previous Rector and historian, Reverend Edward Henry Lisle Reeve, and will feature music by local Elizabethan composer, William Byrd. ‘Through Changing Scenes’ is a history of the church and village in words and music’. The music is provided by Tuneful Accord directed by Christine Gwynn, and the script, researched and written by me, told by members of the congregation. Profits will go to church funds.
Linked with ‘Through Changing Scenes’, two small books will be available telling the history of Stondon Massey. There will also be the opportunity to buy “Revd. E.H.L. Reeve. Chronicler Of The Great War” and “William Byrd: Some Notes”. All books are £1.50 each, more if posted.
Stondon Massey Church will also be featured on television. On 4 April, programme three in the series ‘Sacred Music’ will feature the life and work of William Byrd. Some of the programme was “filmed on location”. The series will be broadcast on BBC FOUR.
Will this mean a surge in visitor numbers this summer to our local parishes?
Over the next month, this ‘blog’ will feature aspects of Stondon’s history: not only some notes on composer William Byrd but also other local worthies.
Returning to the subject of books, I have written a number on aspects of Blackmore’s local history. A list is now included.
Here in this corner of Essex consultation around a Planning Appeal for the old school continues but in the meantime with Brentwood Borough Council approving a separate plan to extend the old building to permit conversion to a four-bedroom house. Letters associated with the Planning Appeal close on 7 March. My personal views are given on this blog.
As a parish, Blackmore covers about 2500 acres. In terms of housing, it may be divided into three sections: the old village, Hook End (or anciently Hooks End) and, Wyatts Green. The latter areas were scattered farms until the 1960s when estates were created. First Avenue, Hook End, were former ‘plot land’ dwellings, sold in the 1930s. In the old village (central Blackmore, actually towards the north of the parish) The Green and its surroundings lie within a Conservation Area. Essex County Council has recently undertaken an appraisal (the consultation period closed on 1 February) and this is of both historic and civic interest. This month I include a link to this and other Conservation Area appraisals.
Listed buildings are of importance to our history. Local Councils publish a ‘Buildings at Risk’ register. This includes Coachmans Cottage (Grade II listed) in Church Street but, a gold star is now required to its owner in that over the recent weeks it has been repaired. A link to Brentwood Borough Council’s register is now on this ‘blog’.
The landscape too is important to our heritage. This is illustrated in the nearby town of Chipping Ongar which has recently published its ‘Ongar Tree Strategy’. I include a short review.
I wrote last month that in terms of coverage Blackmore Area Local History will include the area roughly Epping to the west, Chelmsford to the north, Billericay to the east, and Brentwood to the south. I came across a map from 1848 which, being way out of copyright, I have included at the foot of the page. It gives a sense of relative location for those who are unfamiliar with this part of the county.
Coming soon to this blog
- Jericho Priory
- Early twentieth century postcards of Brentwood, Warley Barracks, Shenfield etc
Coming soon to Blackmore Village Website
- an index of Blackmore ancestors
- a transcript of the 1910 Electoral Register.
Linked with ‘Through Changing Scenes’, two small books will be available telling the history of Stondon Massey. There will also be the opportunity to buy “Revd. E.H.L. Reeve. Chronicler Of The Great War” and “William Byrd: Some Notes”. All books are £1.50 each, more if posted.
Stondon Massey Church will also be featured on television. On 4 April, programme three in the series ‘Sacred Music’ will feature the life and work of William Byrd. Some of the programme was “filmed on location”. The series will be broadcast on BBC FOUR.
Will this mean a surge in visitor numbers this summer to our local parishes?
Over the next month, this ‘blog’ will feature aspects of Stondon’s history: not only some notes on composer William Byrd but also other local worthies.
Returning to the subject of books, I have written a number on aspects of Blackmore’s local history. A list is now included.
Here in this corner of Essex consultation around a Planning Appeal for the old school continues but in the meantime with Brentwood Borough Council approving a separate plan to extend the old building to permit conversion to a four-bedroom house. Letters associated with the Planning Appeal close on 7 March. My personal views are given on this blog.
As a parish, Blackmore covers about 2500 acres. In terms of housing, it may be divided into three sections: the old village, Hook End (or anciently Hooks End) and, Wyatts Green. The latter areas were scattered farms until the 1960s when estates were created. First Avenue, Hook End, were former ‘plot land’ dwellings, sold in the 1930s. In the old village (central Blackmore, actually towards the north of the parish) The Green and its surroundings lie within a Conservation Area. Essex County Council has recently undertaken an appraisal (the consultation period closed on 1 February) and this is of both historic and civic interest. This month I include a link to this and other Conservation Area appraisals.
Listed buildings are of importance to our history. Local Councils publish a ‘Buildings at Risk’ register. This includes Coachmans Cottage (Grade II listed) in Church Street but, a gold star is now required to its owner in that over the recent weeks it has been repaired. A link to Brentwood Borough Council’s register is now on this ‘blog’.
The landscape too is important to our heritage. This is illustrated in the nearby town of Chipping Ongar which has recently published its ‘Ongar Tree Strategy’. I include a short review.
I wrote last month that in terms of coverage Blackmore Area Local History will include the area roughly Epping to the west, Chelmsford to the north, Billericay to the east, and Brentwood to the south. I came across a map from 1848 which, being way out of copyright, I have included at the foot of the page. It gives a sense of relative location for those who are unfamiliar with this part of the county.
Coming soon to this blog
- Jericho Priory
- Early twentieth century postcards of Brentwood, Warley Barracks, Shenfield etc
Coming soon to Blackmore Village Website
- an index of Blackmore ancestors
- a transcript of the 1910 Electoral Register.
You can contact me by adding a Comment below, or better still, go to 'Aask Andrew' under 'labels' (left hand side) and add a comment under that topic.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)