Deal Walmer and Sandwich Mercury 30th January 1915

Central Association Volunteer
Training Corps

A well attended meeting in connection with the above was held at Northbourne School, on Thursday evening. Those present included Lord Northbourne, Sergt. - Major Hollamby, Messrs. A. W. Waterfield, F. E. Green, E. M. Fuller, members of Sandwich Volunteer Corps, Messrs. P. W. Steed, T. P. Scott, F. S. Solley, H. R. Fuller, and members of Eastry Corps. The surrounding parishes were well represented.

The chairman (Mr. F. L. H. Morrice), introduced Company Commander R. M. Bourne, of the Sandwich Volunteer Corps, who had kindly come over to explain the object of the meeting and the principles of the Association.

Mr. Bourne fully explained the object of the Association, and gave the numbers (over a million and a half) of those who have joined similar Volunteer corps throughout the country. He informed his hearers that the corps was meant primarily for those who for some reason or other were unable to join the colours, but who were still perfectly fit and able to do their bit for home defence, and that the joining of such corps was in no sense the signing away of a man's freedom. They were bound by their honour alone to drill and fit themselves to shoot in case of emergency. He was prepared to answer any questions that anyone present had to ask him.

After a certain amount of discussion. Lord Northbourne rose from amongst the men, and in a short speech exactly hit off the temper of those present. His lordship said he was unfortunately old enough to remember the old Volunteer movement of the sixties, that had its origin in fear of invasion from a very different enemy. He wished very much he was 30 or 40 years younger. He considered the present crisis a far more serious affair, and though he had no fear for himself of bombs or Zeppelins, he did feel strongly, and knew that every one present felt as he did, that when we thought of the ghastly condition of war across the sea, the men standing for thirty or forty hours in trenches half full of water, frost bitten and wounded, bearing the whole brunt of the war with miserably inadequate numbers until such time as our new armies might be fit to take the field in the spring, that we who lived untouched by the horrors of war through their heroism, were ready and willing to do what little we could to train and get fit to take our part in defence of our own homes, or help in any way that we might be found useful in case of emergency. But there was one sort of thing of which he did feel afraid. He was sorry to see that one whom he felt sure would be there, was not present. He referred to their old friend Daddy Soames. When he passed through the Court Farm the other day he asked him what he meant to do, supposing the German's landed, and Daddy Soames did not say much, but he had a pitchfork in his hand, and held it to his shoulder to show that he meant to shoot. Well, that anyone should think that they could take up arms without acquiring the right to do so by qualifying at the butts and by drill was a very real danger. No one liked to be "druv." He would tell them an old story to explain what he meant! A distinguished foreigner, fired with enthusiasm, as many of us were, for temperance reform, attended a meeting of the blue Ribbon Army. He came away rather sad at the amount of intolerance he found there. Hailing a cab, he noticed that the driver had an orange rosette, and asked him what was the meaning of it. "I belong to a society what says: 'I eats what I likes, and drinks what I likes,' and I don't care a -------- for anybody." Well, that all very well, but we had got to do things together, and pull together, if we were to be of any use whatever in the present crisis of our country, and he, for his part, thought that there was nothing of which we had more cause to be proud than that every man of all the armies drilling up and down the length and breadth of England had joined the colours absolutely of his own free will. In order to show how cordially he was in sympathy with the movement, he hastened to be the first to step up to the platform and enrol himself as a volunteer after more than half a century.

Mr. Morrice informed the meeting of the arrangements which had been made re. rifle range, instructor, &c., and expressed his opinion that as Englishmen, we were all anxious to "hoe our row."

Sergt. - Major Hollamby called for Volunteers, and the following were enrolled: Lord Northbourne, Messrs. F. L. H. Morrice, G. W. Kemp, E. J. Arnold, D. Ellender, W. Moat, John Fagg, M. J. Clark, Jas. Farrier, G. A. Wanstall, Alfred Wanstall, H. Brockman, J. Gambell, G. Richards, J. Amis, E. Dixon, H. Wyborn, W. R. Burgess, W. J. Marsh, Jas. Newing, Alfred Pilcher, Wm. Brown, and F. G. Brockman and R. H. Amos (Bantam Battalion).