The outbreak of World War I, 1914

The United Kingdom declared war on Germany and its allies on 4th August 1914, thus marking the beginning of World War I as far as this country was concerned.

The causes of the war had a long gestation, with Germany’s envy of Britain’s naval power and worldwide Empire being an important factor. Kaiser Wilhelm II had long sought an excuse to fight a war against Britain, and the events that followed the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria on 28th June provided that opportunity.

Germany’s first target was France, which was not as well prepared for war as was Britain. Germany had a common border with France, but the Kaiser was worried about an immediate attack by Britain and decided to put into action a long-held plan (the Schlieffen Plan) to sweep through Belgium and occupy the Channel ports – thus making it difficult for Britain to land troops – before attacking France. Germany intended to turn its attention to Britain once France was safely conquered.

Belgium had long been recognized as a neutral country, and Britain was a guarantor of that neutrality. Germany’s threat to Belgium was therefore enough for Britain to declare war.

As it happened, Belgian troops put up much more resistance than Germany had expected, and the delay in advancing through Belgium into France was enough to allow Britain to mobilize and send troops into northern France to defend its ally.

The declaration of war came at 11pm (midnight in Germany). The Germans had been sent an ultimatum to the effect that if they did not withdraw their troops from the Belgian border by midnight a state of war would exist. It was not expected that such a withdrawal would take place.

As Sir Edward Grey, the British Foreign Secretary, looked out of his office window as the lights came on that evening with the deadline fast approaching, he made the famous statement that: ‘the lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime’.

Crowds of people gathered outside Buckingham Palace on the night of the declaration. There were loud cheers for King George and Queen Mary and a general mood of celebration at the idea that Germany would soon be put in her place and it would all be over by Christmas. As we all know, things did not turn out that way at all.

I am unusual in being only one generation away from participants in World War I. My father’s two older brothers both fought in the war and survived. One of them, my Uncle Frank, never married and was part of the household during my early years. I therefore heard a great deal about his war experiences at first hand.

I also have his diaries next to me as I write this. He kept a pocket diary for 1914 (and for other years), and he later summarised the entries into a notebook that covered important events throughout his life.

In August 1914 he was 18 years old and on the verge of starting his career as a teacher. During the academic year 1913-14 he had been living in Poole (Dorset) with his family, his father being the Primitive Methodist minister. He was in his last year at Poole Secondary School but he was only there for one day a week, the rest of his time being spent as a student teacher at Oakdale Primary School. (As it happened, I would attend both those schools myself many years later.)

By August the family had moved away from Poole and was living at Frome in Somerset. Frank was looking forward to going to university at Reading in September.

On 4th August – the day on which war was declared – Frank records that nothing special happened, but he went to the public swimming baths in the evening and watched a ‘very exciting’ (the ‘very’ is underlined) water polo match in which Frome beat Gloucester City by six goals to two.

News of the declaration of war would presumably have reached Frome the following day, but there is no mention of this in the diary. It is not until Thursday the 6th that the word ‘War’ appears – Frank records that the Germans had advanced on Liege (Belgium) but met strong resistance. The British Navy is recorded as having sunk a German minelaying ship.

In his summary notebook, Frank remarks on his non-recording of the declaration of war, and adds: ‘I had no idea then that it would affect me’.

Frank offered to join the Army in March 1915 but was rejected because he wore glasses. However, he was able to join in February 1916 under the ‘Derby scheme’ (shortly before conscription was imposed) which allowed students to complete their current year of study before serving in the Army.

He was given ‘B’ medical clearance that declared him to be ‘fit for garrison duty abroad’ – in other words it kept him out of the trenches. He served as a member of the Royal Garrison Artillery.

His brother George (younger by one year) was already in the Army as a member of the Royal Fusiliers in France, where he had been since late 1915. He was wounded three times, including receiving a machine gun bullet in the chest that rendered him unconscious for two weeks. However, he survived and also saw active service in World War II.

Although the Welfords played their part in World War I, no members of the immediate family have their names on any war memorial – for which we are extremely grateful.