We Will Remember Them....
October 1914 – The Race to the Sea
Throughout October the Allied (British and French) and German armies tried to outflank each other as they moved north towards the Channel coast.
A number of battles took place as the Germans attempted to break through the Allied lines and sweep round to the west of Paris.
The most famous of these, the First Battle of Ypres began in the middle of the month and lasted five weeks.
Importantly, the Allies retained control of the vital ports of Calais and Dunkirk.
At the end of the month, Turkey began hostilities against Russia – a development fraught with significance for the men of the Cheshire Regiment.
The Home Front: Alderley Edge in October 1914
Like many towns and villages throughout the country,
Alderley Edge undertook to receive a number of Belgian refugees.
A committee was set up under the chairmanship of the Vicar, and the first refugees arrived in October 1914.
In October 1915 it was reported that 45 refugees had been accommodated in Alderley Edge during the previous year.
The 30th October issue of The Alderley & Wilmslow Advertiser carried a list, compiled by the Vicar, of 102 men who had joined the forces.
Not all can be traced in surviving records, but many can, including Henry (Harry) Fletcher, whose name appears on this panel of the War Memorial.
