Ratley near Banbury, a very desirable cottage residence with stables, outbuildings, capital garden and close of arable and pasture land known as “Emberley’s Leys” having an area of 1 acre 1 rood 20 perch with Freehold possession on completion.
Percy W Flick is instructed by the Exors of the late Mrs Elizabeth Sandford to sell the above by Auction at The Rose & Crown Inn, Ratley on Friday June 11th at 7 o`clock in the evening.
Banbury Guardian, June 1915
The first drill of the newly formed Volunteer Training Corps was held on Saturday evening. The Rev. Gordon Savill is the Commandant, Mr A. G. White the Drill Sergeant, Dr Elkington the Medical Officer, Mr Moore the Secretary, and Mr W. G. Dickens Chairman of the Committee.
Banbury Guardian, June 1915
At the last County Court at Daventry before his honour Judge Ratcliffe, Mr Edward Elkington of Warmington brought an action against Mr M. D. Stanton of Byfield for the damage in taking and using a quantity of hay. Mr HF Besdale of Banbury appeared for the plaintiff. John Atkins, farmer, Warmington deposed that up to Michaelmas 1914 he occupied a farm at Byfield Hill and when he left, defendant refused to take two stumps of hay and the witness sold them to the plaintiff for £10. The plaintiff said he bought the two stumps for £10 in November. In February he saw the ricks and he considered that the defendant had cut away two tons which he valued at £4. Defendant said he offered to pay for what he took. It was hay that had not been thatched and much of it was manure. He had about 10 cwt and he valued it at 6s. 0d. Defendants mother gave evidence, and his honour gave judgement for 15s. 0d. and costs on that amount.
Banbury Guardian, June 1915
New Cars in Stock – 1915 4 seater Fords £128 8s. 0d. each – Wrench`s Garage, Banbury
The Shortage of Labour
In Warwickshire “the prospects for the coming season are not rosy.” This is the verdict of a man (says a contemporary) who has a very large experience of the conditions of agriculture in that part of the county round Warwick. There was a very bad planting season last autumn, and this, coupled with the shortage of labour, discouraged the farmers very seriously in their efforts to carry out the wishes of the Government to increase the area under wheat. In a great many cases there is less and not more wheat under cultivation. Many cases of decrease have come under the observation of farm valuers. In one instance, instead of finding, as they expected, 132 acres under wheat on a 500 acre farm, there were only 32 acres. In one district the recruiting officer took the labourers away in the midst of the planting, and one farmer renting 1,000 acres gave up the work in despair, and did not plant his farm at all. Everywhere the complaint is raised of the shortness of labour, and one case is cited in which a farmer says he would have planted a much larger area of wheat if he could have had men, even if he had to pay high wages. Store cattle are selling up to 46s. per cwt., and grass keeping is being disposed of well, in some cases 50 per cent more than last year. A suggested explanation of this is that well-to-do farmers are taking keep and leaving as much of their own land for hay as possible. But there will be great difficulty in ensuring sufficient labour to get a large hay crop. Stock and all kinds of agricultural produce are selling remarkably well.
Banbury Guardian, May 1915
Private Walter George Cooper is posted to France with the British Expeditionary Forces on 1st June 1915
The Board of Trade and Meat Prices
The Board of Trade announce that at a meeting of the Advisory Committee of the National Federation of Meat Traders Associations, held at the Board of Trade on the 17th May, the effect on the meat trade of the increased requirements of the British and French armies and of the relative shortage of vessels equipped for the conveyance of meat from overseas was discussed. The Advisory Committee expressed the opinion that the recent daily and weekly fluctuations of supplies in the wholesale markets rendered it difficult to fix average quotations. They expressed the opinion that the only was of avoiding a further advance in price in the near future would be an appreciable reduction of the demand by the civilian population. The Board of Trade, having considered the report of the Advisory Committee, wish to call the attention of the public to the great importance of restricting the consumption of meat, with a view to economising the national supplies and avoiding an excessive increase of price.
Banbury Guardian, May 1915