SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: Croydon’s joyful response to the news that war had ended in 1918 was widely covered in the local newspapers 107 years ago.
DAVID MORGAN sifts through the cuttings in the Minster archives
By this time next Sunday, most of the marching will be over and the wreaths laid at the memorials across the borough, from Croydon Town Hall, to the RAF memorial by the Purley Way, at Kenley aerodrome and in Coulsdon. There’s to be a service at Croydon Minster , too.
Front page news: low-flying aircraft, flares and music marked the ‘intense enthusiasm throughout beflagged borough’ in the Croydon Times
November 9 has been designated as Remembrance Sunday this year, the Sunday closest to November 11, the date when the guns fell silent across Europe in 1918 after more than four years of what some called, sadly mistakenly, “the war to end all wars”.
The Armistice that ended what we today call World War I began at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month, and that is why our solemn ceremonies today also take place at that hour on November 11, as they will again this year, in addition to the services next Sunday.
But what must it have been like for ordinary Croydon people 107 years ago, anxiously waiting for news from the front in France, or in Palestine, or East Africa, or from ships at sea around the globe, desperate to find out if their loved ones were alive and safe?
Following the announcement of the Armistice on Monday November 11, 1918, the local newspapers reported extensively on how Croydon responded to the news.
According to the reports, the streets were thronged, the day being full of gaiety and spontaneity.
‘Souvenir issue’: it was Wednesday, two days after peace was declared, when the one-penny Croydon Times (incorporating the Mitcham, Norwood, Penge, Norbury and Streatham Telegraph) had its reports on the streets of south London and Surrey
“The borough’s chief industry on the Monday was flag selling,” began one report.
Once sold out of their flags and bunting, many shops closed at lunchtime or put their shutters up early.
Making a racket: tools that days before had been making weapons were now used to make as much noise as possible to celebrate the peace
Some shop assistants did not wait for customers to come inside the premises. They stood outside on the pavement selling their flags as fast as they could. The Stars and Stripes was popular, too, but it didn’t seem to matter what was waved by the crowds as long as it was red, white and blue.
Paper hats in the three colours were being sported by adults and children alike. One man was seen wearing a straw boater with a flag attached to the front, while ladies adorned their hats with red, white and blue trims in many and varied ways.
Prams being pushed in the High Street were “bedecked with flags and other decorations”.
As well as the visual spectacle in the streets, there was also plenty of noise, too: “300 munitionettes set Noth End agog”, wrote one reporter. The young women had taken a sharp-toothed circular saw from their place of work, with one of them using a hammer as a drumstick to create quite a racket.
Others in the group had brought various metal objects from their factory out into the street, which made up an “exceptional band”. The reporter noted the significance of the saw and various implements that had been used in the war effort the previous week but which were now being used to herald the peace.
Most of this crowd dispersed at the West Croydon bridge but around a dozen, with white flowers in their hair, made merry at the tram terminus playing “ring-a-ring of roses and other pleasantries”.
Let them ring out: the Parish Church bells had been silenced since 1914
A group of wounded soldiers surrounded a bus in West Croydon bound for Merstham, “crowding all around it and boarding on every way except the usual one”.
One woman, standing on the Town Hall steps, was heard to exclaim, “There are the bells!” In the middle of the noisy celebrations in the streets, she was one of the first to hear the peal of bells rung in celebration at Croydon Parish Church. The bells had been silenced since 1914 by the Defence of the Realm Act, which restricted their use so that there would be no false alarms.
As well as the bells, maroons – a kind of flare – were fired off in celebrations, with the crack of their explosions adding to the noisy spectacle.
Bunting, consisting of the flags of “all the civilised nations” appeared on many Croydon buildings during the day after the Armistice was announced. “The whole borough blazed with the colours of the Allied Nations.”
Early fly-past: at least four aircraft flew over Croydon town centre, some dropping leaflets
A “mammoth batleplane” flew towards the Town Hall.
Smaller aeroplanes flew daringly low over the town, discharging red and green lights and dropping hundreds of victory leaflets.
One of the pilots flew low over Katharine Street, much to the delight of the cheering crowds who made even more noise when the pilot swooped low, waving his hand as he leaned out of the cockpit.
In the evening, as the weather turned wet with some drizzle, it did not dampen people’s enthusiasm. Mouth organs, buzzers and concertinas all combined to create a special musical atmosphere, to which were added the crackle of Chinese Crackers.
A special service, with a packed congregation, was held in the Parish Church in the evening, at which the Mayor, Alderman Howard Houlder, and representatives from Croydon Corporation were in attendance. The vicar, Rev Leonard White-Thompson, spoke about returning thanks to God who had been the borough’s strength and stay in the darkest days of the last four years.
He hoped that change would follow the Armistice.
“Many things which existed must be done away with in the name of Christ, many things must be altered. Long-established prejudices must be swept away, hindrances to the full development of the lives of men, women and children must be removed. The spirit of self-seeking must be exorcised and a new spirit of brotherhood developed.
“And the responsibility for this rests not only on the chosen representatives of the people but with the people who choose them.”
The hymn that was sung most fervently in the service was Now thank we all our God.
Yet during the celebrations, there was a serious incident involving knives.
The police had been called to the Café Royal in North End on the Sunday evening because a woman was running around with a knife in each hand, threatening violence to anyone who came near her. She had come for a meal with a soldier friend at about 9.30pm, at the time the restaurant was closing.
Knife crime, 1918 style: the soldier and woman were found guilty and fined
Things took a turn for the worse when a waiter tried to explain to them that the restaurant was full and the couple couldn’t be served. The soldier punched the waiter and the woman grabbed the knives and threatened to kill the waiter.
In court the next day, the couple were each fined 20 shillings – £1 each, equivalent today of a fine worth £70 – with the woman having to pay an extra three shillings (15p). The soldier’s fine was paid by his officer, who had provided him with an exemplary conduct testimony in court. Excess alcohol was the reason given that the situation had got out of hand.
Drunkenness was not a widespread issue though. Only one drunk appeared in front of the magistrates on November 12. Found slumped in Church Street at midnight by a patrolling police constable, the man, who lived in Mitcham Road, had to pay one shilling costs.
The newspapers also reflected the grief and sadness felt by so many, for absent loved ones. “I must be happy with you today and forget my own sadness,” reflected one young lady.
There was pride, there was thankfulness, there was sorrow and there was grief. There were those who thanked God that the war had ended, there were those who had lost their faith after the horrors which they had experienced.
As we remember those who died in service of their country, the poppy, adopted as a symbol of remembrance more than 100 years ago, the sound of the lone bugler or piper, or the sight of a lowered standard, will still draw a tear or two.
- David Morgan, pictured right, is a former Croydon headteacher, now the volunteer education officer at Croydon Minster, who offers tours or illustrated talks on the history around the Minster for local community groups
If you would like a group tour of Croydon Minster or want to book a school visit, then ring the Minster Office on 020 688 8104 or go to the website on www.croydonminster.org and use the contact page
Some previous articles by David Morgan:
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