To the Editor of the Advertiser.

Dear Sir,-I have again to trespass upon the generosity of the inhabitants of Rugby. We have some 2,500 troops coming into our town, and it is felt that it is our duty to make their stay here as comfortable as possible.

A committee has been formed to provide amusements for the men in their leisure hours and to provide also facilities for reading and writing in various parts of the town. To equip these centres properly we shall need money, and I ask those interested to send their donations to Mr Sam Robbin’s, Auctioneer’s Office, Albert Street. I feel sure Rugby will be as loyal in the matter as other towns.-Yours truly,

J J Mckinnell

Chairman, Rugby Urban District Council.

29th DIVISION - 88th Field Ambulance arrived in Coventry from Bury St Edmunds.  A territorial unit from the RAMC.  10 officers, 236 men, 30 horses and a large amount of equipment arrived on this day.  The main party arrived at Coventry station at 1.30pm and were met by Dep Chief Constable Imber, other police officers and a large party of special constables.  The men were guided to their billets which were mainly in the Stoke part of the city.

At Nuneaton the Royal Dublin Fusiliers arrived. The 1^st Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers had been in Madras for 18 months and in India for over 4 ½ years.  An advance party arrived in the early hours followed by two main groups, 10 officers, 430 men and 20 tons of baggage followed by another 10 officers, 445 men and 18 tons of baggage. 

Headed by the regimental band they marched to the assembly points at Pool Meadow and Queens Road.  They were billeted in the Earlsdon District and the neighbourhoods of the Butts, Coundon Road and Pool Meadow.

The Dardanelles or Gallipoli would be words few have heard of. There was no talk of a Gallipoli campaign at this time and the 29th Division, the last regular division to leave the shores of the UK, thought that they were destined to fight the Germans in France and Flanders. In a few months time many would have  wished that they were back in Warwickshire.

SOURCE:
'Before Gallipoli - The 29th Division in Warwickshire and North Oxford, December 1914-March. 1915' by Chris Holland.