Photos discovered of officers' brothel in France

[Muerrisch]

10 hours ago, Moonraker said:

Seven hundred and ninety. Such was the population of Urchfont in Wiltshire in 1911. Three years later, the

 Wiltshire Advertise recounted a 'terrible story of immorality, which is, of course, not suitable for reproduction in these columns', though again there were reassurances that such cases were very rare in the district. A young widow, Mary Ann Watts, of Church Lane, Urchfont, was charged with keeping a disorderly house there with her sister, Nellie Stokes, aged 20, who was similarly charged. The police had been observing the house since 25 October (shortly after Canadian soldiers had arrived at Pond Farm Camp, three miles away). A soldier had been seen wearing women's clothes, in the company of Nellie Stokes in a soldier's uniform. Lieutenant Frederick Green, of the 2nd Field Artillery Brigade, billeted in the village, said that he had arrested a man there on 19 January and that NCOs had complained about the house. Watts was sent to prison for three months, Stokes for one, both with hard labour. A further consequence for Watts was the suspension of payments of 11s a week that she had been receiving from a Workmen's Compensation Award following the death of her husband. The pair must have thought it very fortunate when so many potential customers moved into the locality but, with the village having a population of fewer than 800, surely must have realized that what they were up to would quickly become common knowledge.

 

As is remarked in The Gentlemen of the Party, A. G. Street's factual wartime novel of the Fovant area (west of Salisbury and which from 1915 had two large army camps), 'girls were at a premium, and many of them loved too well, only to find when trouble came that their lovers were overseas'. One of the book's characters remarks (in Wiltshire brogue) that 'half the [village] 'oomen to-day be hoors .… there's one thing what 'ave got cheaper. An' that's 'oomen. They do vling it at 'ee, wi out waitin' to be asked. Dirty bitches.'

 

Street, a local farmer, himself, wrote that 'the newspapers might print articles telling how splendid the girls were, and in many cases these articles might be justified. But in any camp district during that hectic period of history, 1914 to 1918, the older men and women knew that the girls, both native-borne and war-imported, were anything but splendid'.

 

Moonraker

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting. Our village has about 1500 people of all ages, many are children, many are pensioners. About half the remainder are males "of an age" [Not that pensioners can be ruled out .....]

Having pondered the matter over a glass of a decent red, I suspect that there may be a "critical mass" of demand which determines the supply, and that the licentious soldiery provided an incentive that rural Lincolnshire currently does not.

This is borne out by a conversation I had with a lovely old local farmer, who said "if I'd wanted to misbehave, why, why, .... I'd have had to walk to Stamford! [10 miles].

[Beechhill]

23 minutes ago, Muerrisch said:

 

Interesting. Our village has about 1500 people of all ages, many are children, many are pensioners. About half the remainder are males "of an age" [Not that pensioners can be ruled out .....]

Having pondered the matter over a glass of a decent red, I suspect that there may be a "critical mass" of demand which determines the supply, and that the licentious soldiery provided an incentive that rural Lincolnshire currently does not.

This is borne out by a conversation I had with a lovely old local farmer, who said "if I'd wanted to misbehave, why, why, .... I'd have had to walk to Stamford! [10 miles].

Certinly there's a critical mass. However I'm sure it varies over time, context and culture. Even the absence of birth control might escalate the demand for extramarital "services". 

Edited 24 January , 2018 by Beechhill

[Moonraker]

Ah, I didn't spot that, not looking beyond the page or two that Googling led me to. I did think that the tone of the letters didn't ring true for the 1910s. And I gave Orland a terminal "O".

 

All we need now is for some anorak dedicated and erudite bibliophile to come up with the first known reference to a blue lamp/light in this context.

 

Moonraker

[seaJane]

5 hours ago, Muerrisch said:

This is borne out by a conversation I had with a lovely old local farmer, who said "if I'd wanted to misbehave, why, why, .... I'd have had to walk to Stamford! [10 miles].

Changing wars - indeed not a war at all - when my Dad was doing his National Service at Catterick in the mid-50s, and was sent out fighting a peat / heather fire on the North Yorks Moors (such a lovely day outside that some of his mates ensured that the fire never quite went out) - the RAMC chaps with them set up a brothel in their caravan ...

[seaJane]

4 hours ago, Moonraker said:

 

All we need now is for some anorak dedicated and erudite bibliophile to come up with the first known reference to a blue lamp/light in this context.

 

Actually all you need is the OED online via your library card   and I can tell you that there is nothing for "blue lamp" and that "blue light" only crops up in the police context, in 1941.

 

So I tried the Times Digital Archive:-

"The "Blue Lamp" is one section of the Mayfair Union, which is itself a branch of the London Diocesan Society for Preventive and Rescue Work, acting under the sanction and direction of the bishop of the diocese." - The Times (London, England), Thursday, Jul 21, 1898; pg. 10. (and a reference to the same establishment in 1919, now the "Blue Lamp Rescue Home").

 

Not exactly what I was looking for, as the actress said to the bishop.

 

Just by way of control I searched for "red lamp" and "red light" and found one of each, both times describing "districts: - Ruthless Chicago. The Times (London, England), Monday, May 11, 1914; pg. 7 & London Street Women. The Times (London, England), Tuesday, Sep 24, 1918; p.3 (an American visitor objecting to being solicited, and claiming that those districts in many American cities had been wiped out).

 

Whether the "Red Lamp Salient" in the trenches near Armentieres has any bearing on the matter I wouldn't like to say: 36 D.S.O.'S For Gallant Officers. The Times (London, England), Friday, Nov 05, 1915; pg. 4.

 

sJ x

[Muerrisch]

I am grateful for the searches, also rather pleased that no hard evidence of the Blue Light/lamp has been advanced. I am of course sure that Officer Brothels existed.