Regimental Intelligence Officer Coulter Promoted in Frontline Notes
Two letters from Capt C Sidney Coulter detail his promotion from captain to Regimental Intelligence officer on the colonel’s staff. He describes frontline duties, training his company, and plans to push into enemy territories, plus vivid scenes of bombardment, French hospitality, and daily trench life.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Sidney Coulter
Regial
Nes Coulter
East St
Baird
Tas
No Man’s Land
Repve Corps
Teak
Coulter Tella
Germany
War Godmothers Aid French Soldiers Then and Now
A society of French women organized to care for poor soldiers amid war shortages, a practice now rare as officers report many have war godmothers. The writer notes the hardship of serving far from home and laments language barriers while hoping American troops gain similar support. He plans to send a German shell as a keepsake and contemplates obtaining a bowie helmet. Sid. Capt. & R. 1.O., 18th Inf.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Diering
Woonsocket
Comtes d’Hoffman
Marraine
R. 1.O
Inf
Secretary Daniels Seeks Speed and Efficiency in Navy
The Secretary of the Navy emphasizes cutting red tape and practical progress to speed up naval buildup. He questions idle talk and cites a humor anecdote about Torkins and his horse drawn courting in the era before automobiles to illustrate impatience with delays.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Daniels
Torkins
Charley
Odd Indian Bot Race in Torchlit Night Run
The Tarahumare Indians race at night under flaming torches with runners pursuing a ball. Spectators crowd the course while the silent crowd watches as the ball stays in view despite flickering light. Winners gain only honor and glory and admiration. wagers may be split with winning runners sharing part of their winnings if desired.
Splinterless Goggles for Military and Industrial Use
New goggles with two layers of optical glass separated by celluloid provide eye protection for gas masks aviators machinists and welders. They resist splintering like glass yet gain celluloid strength with reduced flammability and rigidity loss. The cellloid layer also improves heat insulation preventing moisture clouding.
A Note From the Front man Shows French Study Worth
A young Red Cross volunteer in France writes that studying French before deployment saved him trouble. He is glad he learned the language and finds it invaluable, as most locals he encounters cannot speak English.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Red Cross
France
Man in the Hussars Drives Same Team for Three Years
A veteran Hussars trooper has led the same team of horses for over three years. They first went to France on August 16, 1914, and have marched at Mons Aisne the Marne Ypres Neuve Chapelle on the Somme and at Arras. In April Vimy Ridge was taken and the team never missed a day’s march.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Hussars
France
Mons
Aisne
Marne
Ypres
Neuve Chapelle
Somme
Arras
Vimy Ridge
Birch sap used to craft birkén wasser drinks
From birch sap northern Russian tribes prepare birkén wasser for drinking and vinegar. In some districts the sap is boiled into a sweet syrup used as a sugar substitute.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Russia
Naming Hindu Babies on the twelfth day
Hindu babies are named when they are twelve days old and the mother typically assigns the name. The rite highlights cultural timing and maternal involvement in naming practices.
Uniforms Convert Boys Into Soldiers In Russian Camps
In Petrograd crowds debate openly as a village meets the capital. A sergeant demonstrates how a plain private becomes orderly under the uniform, inspiring the correspondent to reflect that a sword and a uniform could turn any boy into a soldier.
Indian Soldiers Long Service in United States and Canada
Since 1861 Indians have volunteered for U S army. In 1892 Lt Scott led Seventh Cavalry troops praised by the War Department inspector general. Indians trained for accurate marksmanship and endurance, earning living as soldiers. The Canadian government also enlisted numerous Indian nations at the war front with many sacrifices, including Lieut Cameron Brant of the Six Nations, descendant of Capt Joseph Brant.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
United States Army
Scott
Seventh Cavalry
War Department
Andon Tit-Bits
Cameron Brant
Joseph Brant
Work, Women, and War Roles in Rural Township Banquet
A railroad wartime banquet quotes a member praising women's increasing duties such as driving ammunition trucks and digging trenches, noting Russian front line work. The dialogue blends rural lore as Corn Husk speaks of Husky Mame’s daughter and hints at changing gender norms and domestic labor.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Railroads War Board
Russia
Cornelius Husk
Marie
Husky Mame
Corn Husk
Dream Comes True Check Found After Dream
The article notes a dream reported by Katherine Cox in the Occult Review. A barrister missed a large check at night and dreamed it lay curled around a railing near his door. He searched, woke, dressed, and found the check exactly where his dream showed it.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Encyclopedic
Andrew Ladg
Katherine Cox
Occult Review
Kipling Coined "Tommy Atkins" in British War lore
Sir George Younghusband, with forty years in British service, says Kipling created the name "Tommy Atkins" through Private Mulvaney and the Soldiers Three in his American story "Captains Courageous." He notes many veteran officers had never heard of the term before Kipling popularized it.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Kipling
Tommy Atkins
Rudyard Kipling
George Younghusband
Tommy
Mulvaney
Siam Braces for Liquidation of German Firms in Bangkok
Siam announces attachment and dissolution of German and Austrian businesses including three top Bangkok drug stores, two hotels, two dental offices, a photo studio, printing office, rice mill firm, three general import houses, a rice mill engineering office and an undertaker. Germany dominated Siam trade with imports rising from 2.1 million to 2.46 million dollars and 261 German ships entering Bangkok in 1914.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Siam
Bangkok
Germany
World Chart Shows Standard Time Zones at Sea and Land
The French hydrographic service released a large Mercator chart detailing standard time zones on land and sea. Red tint marks even numbered zones starting at zone 0 Greenwich time. blue marks odd zones. Violet shows intermediate legal times in regions like British India and Venezuela.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Hydrographic Service
French
Ministry of Marine
Scientific American
British India
Nigeria
British East Africa
Venezuela
Greenwich
Bermuda Truck Growers Face Winter Vegetable Shortage
Bermuda truck growers told at the Shipping Board offices in New York that vessels would be unlikely to be available for transporting Bermuda vegetables to New York. The Bermuda truck crop, ready for market around January 1, has reached the New York market on British ships but those vessels have been withdrawn for war purposes.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Bermuda
Shipping Board
New York
War Wrecks Nerves and Discharges Amid Frontline Strain
A war correspondent reports that nerves and mental strain drive about one seventh of all discharges while wounds account for one third. The piece notes nerve wreckage from shrapnel causes many men to be declared disabled.
Bouncer vine named after its guck throwing habit
A reader jokes about a vine on a wall and admits they do not know its botanical name. They nicknamed it the Bouncer vine for its habit of throwing out guckers.
Italian Faithful Toiler Among Immigrant Races
The World Outlook writer Willard Price cites lower crime and immorality among Italians in New York compared with other groups. He notes few Italians in almshouses, virtually no drunks, and praises work ethic and cheerfulness, yet warns dense ignorance traps them in unskilled labor.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Willard Price
City of
New York
Blackwell’s Island
James Forbes
Mendicant Department
C.O
Italy
America
Joy for the scrub woman
A new self‑contained scrubbing machine weighs about 100 pounds and runs on standard power. It wets sweeps scrubs and dries floors in one operation with a single attendant guiding it. The cylindrical brush 16 inches wide operates at 600 RPM and recovers dirty water into a separate pan. Capacity nears 7 000 square feet per hour.
Rough Recruiting Tactics By Fifth Avenue Buses Stir Controversy
A New York exchange reports soldiers in khaki have used recruiting buses along Fifth Avenue to shame pedestrians into enlisting. Men and women faced insults like being called unworthy and accused of robbing their country, provoking hostile reactions and concerns the tactic harms recruiting efforts.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Fifth Avenue
New York Exchange
Turkish Girls and Courtship in Wartime Social Change
The Exchange notes Turkish girls awaiting marriage in parental matchmaking while deprived of lovers. Dreams and tender voices mark this period as parents seek suitable husbands. It laments missing the fuller courtship experience seen before the war and suggests it may return as life relaxes after the conflict.
Far-Flung Friends Prompt Geography Joke
A skilled geographer asks a loan, boasting distant friends across the globe. When pressed for names, he cites Tim Budo in Africa for ivory, Ben Gal for fruit, Bil Boa from Spain, and Pat Agonia with Sam O’Thacia and Frank Onio, then is stopped by a skeptical reply about distant connections.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tim Budo
Africa
Ivory
Ben Gal
Thes Bil Boa
Spain
Pat Agonia
Sam O
Thracia
Frank Onio
Camouflage Defined as Artful Military Concealment
The piece explains camouflage as the art of disguising military objects by any means such as paint, shrubbery, smoke or other devices. It suggests the term may originate from camouflage.
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Cigars
Russell’s
Apollo Chocolates
Kodaks
M. B. Church
Main Street
Maynard, Mass
Tam
Captain Dee
Maynard
Bert
Edward M. Foster
Photographic Studio
Main St
Concord
Mass
Ins
Daniela
Nevsky
Arthur Ruhle
Collier’s Weekly
All Petrograd
Siberia
Root
Petrograd
Leutenant
Biddy