Friday August 16^th, 1918

Rheumatics worse in groin.  Hardly walk. Wife should go to Blackpool today. Hope she does so – it will do them good.

Blackpool

Frank is still suffering from rheumatics.  However his wife should be going to Blackpool today, presumably with their daughter Olive.  Since 1846 there had been a direct train service from Oldham to Blackpool. That, together with the pier, the promenade (lit by electric street lights since the late 19th century), a beach, donkey rides and theatres, made Blackpool a popular holiday destination for the working class of the region.

Wakes Weeks

Originally Wakes denoted a religious festival, during which time a fair would usually come to town and there would be a mix of non-secular and secular events.  However during the industrial revolution it morphed into a time when factories would close down for annual maintenance and its employees would take unpaid leave.  In Lancashire, the towns would coordinate their closure, thereby sending a steady stream of holidaymakers to coastal resorts.  By the 1890s, Blackpool could accommodate three million visitors a year.¹

Blackpool in the War Years

Tourism might have declined initially, but soon their numbers were replace by refugees and troops.  Initially there were Belgian refugees, fleeing the German occupation, then the British Tommy at training camps around the town.  By the end of the war, there were an average of 10,000 Americans and colonial troops staying in the town.²

Civilians also had more money in their pockets and therefore there continued to be holiday makers, like Frank’s wife Sarah, throughout the war. The photograph shows wakes weeks’ holiday makers, mainly women and children, arriving at Blackpool’s North Station in 1917.

There was also a rather strange, war-related tourist attraction. At the beginning of WWI, the army created a network of trenches on the town’s South Shore.  It was an exact replica of those on the Western Front and initially used for training soldiers.  However by 1916,  it became a tourist attrition instead.  It was initially named ‘Loos’ and later ‘Arras’ after important battlefields on the Western Front.   It was manned by recuperating soldiers and the proceeds from admission fees and guide book sales went to the new military hospital at Squires Gate in the town.³

I wonder if this will be visited by Sarah Whitehead when she visits Blackpool this weekend.

9^th Battalion / Manchester Regiment War Diary – 16^th  August 1918 – Haudricourt

Training and work as per programme. 1 OR struck off effective strength with effect from 12-8-18 after 7 days in hospital.

References & Further Reading

¹ Blackpool on Wikipedia

² Article from Flyde Coaster

³ BBC World War at Home series, Blackpool.

* image may be subject to copyright