WW1 Recruitment Office - Peterborough - Blue Plaques on Waymarking.com

From Peterborough during World War I, by Stuart Orme:

"Peterborough in 1914 was a bustling mid-sized city, dominated by both its ancient Cathedral and by the railway, which was the biggest employer. It had been a small medieval market town until the coming of the railways in 1845, but had then expanded rapidly, its population multiplying tenfold in the next half century to 35,000. Other industries locally had benefitted or arrived here as a result of the railway, including the manufacture of bricks and a number of engineering companies.

As soon as war was declared in August 1914 there was a rush of volunteers to a recruiting office established on Cathedral Square, with 161 recruits signing up in the first week. Men from Peterborough joined local regiments like the Huntingdonshire Cyclists Battalion. Volunteers from the same town or factory were recruited into ‘Pals’ units so that they could serve together. One of these, ‘Werner’s Own’, was formed of men who worked for Werner, Pfleiderer & Perkins (now Baker Perkins). ‘Whitsed’s Light Infantry’ was formed of Peterborough recruits. Both formed part of the Northamptonshire Regiment.

Within days of the war’s outbreak rumours circulated that German families living in Peterborough were traitors, particularly the Frank family, who owned a butcher’s shop on Westgate. On 6 August 1914 crowds rioted outside the shop, forcing the Mayor to invoke the Riot Act to get the mob to disperse. In contrast many Belgian refugees who had fled the German army were welcomed in Peterborough.

By July 1915 1,997 men from Peterborough had joined up, although the number of volunteers fell as stories filtered back about what was happening in the trenches. Conscription was introduced nationally for the first time in 1916 to help fill the shortages in manpower. The Mayor of Peterborough closed the Roll of Honour commemorating those killed at this point, as he did not believe conscripted men were worthy of inclusion"

Blue Plaque managing agency: Peterborough Civic Society Individual Recognized: Not listed Physical Address: Not listed Web Address: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   06/30/2022 Master Mariner visited it