A Moston man, a reservist in the 2nd battalion Manchester regiment, had returned home having lost the sight in both of his eyes.

Thirty year old William Duxbury was blinded by a German shell after British troops had captured the village of La Basse.
He had arrived in France at the end of Auguts and had witnessed the retreat from Aisne of the Germans. He had not been married many months before he went to fight but a few days after his return home, he witnessed the birth of his first son.

Another three hundred and seventy recruits signed up in Manchester that day, The city, said the reporter should be able to maintain its position as one of the best recruiting Centre’s in the country.

A man was charged with assaulting a railway porter after he had allegedly pushed him onto the line at Stockport station on Xmas Eve.

The man had been traveling from Shrewsbury to Blackburn and had become agitated that there was no information about connecting trains.He was fined £5

A Manchester man was court martialed under section 22 of the defense of the realm act which dealt with having in his possession any apparatus for the sending or receiving of telegraphic messages without the permission of the post master general.

The case was being heard at the town hall and was arousing controversy. Fredrick Goddard from Ardwick had been in detention for two weeks as the case was being tied up in legal argument.

A sixteen year old Salford lad was admitted to the Royal Hospital after his arm had been torn off after it had been caught in machinery and the funeral took place of a Stockport Crimea veteran, Sgt. Major Richard Dunn had enlisted in 1855 and had served in China as well.

A Manchester solicitor serving in the ranks wrote home:

We are all enjoying ourselves vey much plenty of good food in fact, more than we got in England –you would die with laughter if you saw us getting to sleep at night there are sixteen of us in the tent so you can imagine there is quite a crush It is a case of one turn we all turn.

Licensees in Stockport were served notice that members of his Majesties forces were not to be served alcohol between 9pm on one day and 12 noon on the next –the order was issued by Col WC Neville who was commanding the recruiting area which covered Stockport and Macclesfield

There were bargains for men at Lewis’ sale with sits made to order for 30 shillings and savings of 1/8 on pants and vests while socks were half price.

The Hallé put on a concert at the Free Trade Hall to collect funds for Belgian refugees.A full house saw Miss Phyllis Lansdell make her first appearance in Oratoria in the city in the performance of Elijah while there were raising scenes at the New Theatre as 200 wounded soldiers witnessed the performance of the three musketeers.

The first hints of a far off spring were evident at Smithfield market with boxes of white narcissus from France and bundles of rhubarb from Yorkshire

“ the gleaming white flowers tied in pyramidal bunches look very fresh and clean, the pink stalks and jade green leaves of the rhubarb are just as pleasing to the eye”said the reporter.

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