?Scarborough during the Great War

The following are first hand quotes about Scarborough in August 1917 during the First World War. They are taken from Paul Allens book "Neath a foreign sky."

At the beginning of August 1917, in Scarborough, despite a limitation of excursion trains, which had been imposed by the North Eastern Railway Company, the town?s hoteliers and shopkeepers had been looking forward to yet another successful and rewarding August Bank Holiday. On Friday the third, the town?s newspaper had reported...

'The outlook for the August month in Scarborough is excellent and promises to well eclipse the business done during the principal season month last year. The South Cliff will benefit to the greatest extent by the revival, which has unmistakably set in this summer in Scarborough. We find that important hotels and boarding establishments are already fully booked for the whole of August. At the Prince of Wales it has been so for the last fortnight, and now for September the bookings are coming in with most gratifying regularity... the evidence of the return to favour of Scarborough is found in the letting of furnished housing. We are informed by a firm of house agents that specialise in this class of business that almost all the furnished residences on the South Cliff have been taken... It has also been noted that in the existing inflated condition of the provision market, visitors cannot be boarded on the same terms as hitherto and that they realise the fact and are ready to agree to the somewhat increased tariff recognising the reasonableness of the demand?... .

Continuing, the newspaper?s article had outlined the provisioning of the expected influx of visitors...

?No fears are entertained locally of any difficulty in the matter of provisions. The only trouble that might arise as a possibility would be in the matter of sugar, but as buoyant manager remarked, ?If the worst comes to the worst, we can always live on a little less sugar?... .

The town had also had no intentions of skimping the entertainments available to its visitors... ?

There will be a full programme of entertainments, so that, although it may be hoped that the sun will shine on the holiday makers, there will be plenty to interest and amuse should it be otherwise. The brilliance of the Spa will be maintained, and the three daily performances of the excellent orchestra under Mr. Alick MacLean will be supplemented by the presence of vocalists, Miss Florence Fielden, and Miss Annie Coxen... At the Arcadia Mr. Will Catlin?s well known, and popular pierrots will give performances of their ever changing repertoire. The concert party at the Floral Hall, Alexandra Gardens, for the third week of the season there, is well calculated to appeal to the public, and judging from the two opening weeks there it should be a success.

Special arrangements for the week have been made at the luxurious picture houses, where the almost continuous performances put the Londesborough Theatre, and the Palladium in a class by themselves?... . [1]

[1] The Scarborough Mercury Friday August 3RD 1917

A world away, for the soldiers in Belgium there had been no such thoughts of entertainments, no one could have cared less who had been playing on the Spa or at the Arcadia, as for a shortage of sugar, that had been the customary lot of the soldier, whose only preoccupations at the time had been trying to stay alive, and contending with the incessant rain and ever pervading mud. Conditions in Flanders at the beginning of August had been so bad that even the ?Official History? had been moved to comment about the appalling state of affairs.