CHESTER AND THE FIRST WORLD WAR
The 1st Battalion of the Cheshire Regiment, in Ireland
when war was declared, was sent straight to France to
fight at Mons. Within three weeks there were 800
casualties among the 1,000-strong battalion, and hospital trains full of the wounded began to arrive at
Chester. The city was then the headquarters of Western
Command and the principal recruiting centre for
Cheshire; troops were enlisted and trained in camps
within or around the city and mass meetings were held
at the town hall to persuade men to volunteer for
military service. (fn. 1) The Army requisitioned the Roodee
for training, and from 1915 the races were discontinued. (fn. 2) Normal political activity was also suspended.
In 1916 the city's Unionist M.P. resigned, and his
replacement, Sir Owen Philipps, took his seat without a
contest. (fn. 1) The mayor, John Frost, remained in office for
six successive years from 1913, and was knighted in
1918 for his services to the city. (fn. 2)
Because so many men joined the armed services,
industry was soon short of labour, and men were
sought from the surrounding districts, especially for
the large new munitions factory built by the government in 1915 at Queensferry (Flints.). (fn. 3) By 1917 some
3,000 munitions workers had come to live in the
already overcrowded city. (fn. 4) Although the government
encouraged women to take work, the corporation was
reluctant to employ them, using them only as lamplighters and tram conductors, and dismissing its
female employees in 1919. (fn. 5) Working women were
blamed for the rise in the infantile death rate to an
all-time recorded high of 106.9 per 1,000 live births in
1916, although it was acknowledged that overcrowded
living conditions were partly responsible. (fn. 6) Inflation was
a further cause of hardship, particularly to those reliant
on poor-law relief or Army allowances. By early 1916
the board of poor-law guardians thought that there
had been a 40 per cent increase in the cost of living
since the war began. The reasons were little understood, and food price rises were blamed on profiteers. (fn. 7)
The presence of many troops and the greater freedom
for women led to some relaxation in socially acceptable
standards of behaviour. There was no support for
prohibition, but licensing restrictions were introduced. (fn. 8) For fear of air raids the street lights were
extinguished at night, the blackout being blamed for
the 'disgraceful conduct of young girls in the Rows'. (fn. 9)
Men and women not directly engaged in war work
were drawn into voluntary activities such as entertaining servicemen and auxiliary nursing of war wounded
in the military hospitals which were set up in the
workhouse, at Sealand, and in private residences,
including Eaton Hall. (fn. 10) There were many fund-raising
events, and several voluntary organizations came
together as the Council of Social Welfare. Much of
the work fell upon women. (fn. 11) The most important
organization for men was the Chester Volunteer Regiment, a home-guard unit given official recognition in
1915 and active until the end of the war. (fn. 12)
In 1918 American soldiers began to arrive in the city
and baseball matches were held to make them feel
welcome. Despite the onset of the 'Spanish' influenza
epidemic, peace was celebrated 'exuberantly', with
huge bonfires. (fn. 13) Mayor Frost placed a roll of honour
in the town hall for the 771 Chester citizens killed in
action, and Dean Bennett successfully urged the donation of memorial stained-glass windows to the cathedral. The council chose as the official war memorial a
red sandstone cross designed by Royson and Crossley,
an Oxford firm with strong Chester connexions. (fn. 14)
There was some difficulty in raising sufficient funds
by public subscription, but in 1922 the cross was
erected on a site south of the cathedral, facing St.
Werburgh Street. It was unveiled by two mothers,
one of whom had lost three of her four sons, and the
other, four of six. (fn. 15) Remembrance Day services were
held there or inside the cathedral until 1929, after
which they took place outside the town hall. (fn. 16) The
honorary freedom of the city was accepted by Sir David
Beattie, Sir Douglas Haig, and Lloyd George, but
President Wilson declined. (fn. 17)