NOVEMBER 2018

chance to come to England. Among them
was Mr Marquis, who told a Co-op News
reporter on 19 September 1914 how he
left Rouen on 1 September and crossed
the Channel on the CWS’s New Pioneer
ship. He described the general feel of
anxiety in France and the kindness with
which English troops had been greeted
in Rouen, as well as the large numbers of
Belgian refugees arriving in France.
A later issue included an interview with
Theophile Claes, manager of a co-op in
Louvain, Belgium, who told how he spent
three days in filthy cattle vans as a civil
prisoner of the German troops entering
the town. He told the News that German
soldiers were setting fire to houses and
committing “acts of vandalism”.
Co-operators were also among the
first to welcome the refugees, who were
described as “guests”. On 18 September
1914 the Co-operative Union issued an
urgent appeal for the Belgian Distress
Fund, to help refugees arriving in the UK.
“Belgian refugees to the number of
many thousands are now entering this
country and will have to be provided for.
We feel that it is the duty of everyone to
assist in this object”, read the call.
Co-op News readers were also
informed about the fate of French cooperative
organisations.
In the early days of
the war, the
Paris Co-operative
Federation set up
a National Relief
committee, running
soup kitchens where
meals were provided
at just 20 centimes
per head. Stories also
described how Swiss cooperators
helped to feed
the country during the
war, with support of the
Co-operative Union and
the Basel General Cooperative
Society.
On 7 September 1914,
the paper published a
letter by Rennie Smith,
former student at the
Ruskin College
and Co-operative
Scholarship holder
for 1912, providing
an insight into his
confinement in Germany. Mr Smith said
his treatment had been “exemplary” and
he had been allowed to continue his work
in prison. He added that Englishmen had
been put in prison in retaliation to how
Germans in England had been treated.
When British ocean liner RMS
Lusitania was torpedoed by German
U-boats in 1915, leading to civilian losses,
Co-op News suggested the Kaiser was
responsible and predicted that the USA
would join the conflict.
The same year the News published an
appeal by the ICA for a fund for “alien
enemies” – those from Germany, Austria
and Hungary who had lived peacefully
but had their lives affected by the war.
As the conflict went on, coverage
started to touch on issues such as food
shortages and conscription.
The News included articles with tips
on how to increase food supplies by
bottling fruits, and sowing and planting
vegetables. Articles in January 1918
explored ways to cope with famine,
advising people to eat less, stop having
sugar, tea, bacon, and eggs, take less
milk and reduce bread rations.
The treatment of co-operatives during
the war intensified the movement’s
efforts to obtain political representation
in the House of Commons. The societies
received minimal supplies, and even
management-level workers were drafted.
The campaign led to an Emergency
Political Conference on 18 October 1917
where the Co-operative Party was formed.
CALL FOR A CO-OP
COMMONWEALTH
The edition of Co-op News after the
armistice looked at how co-operation
should be used to reconstruct the nation
and create a co-operative commonwealth.
In a second issue, published on 23
November 1918, the paper included an
in-depth analysis of its coverage. “All
during the war period we did what we
believed – and still believe was the most
important duty that devolved upon a
serious newspaper,” it said.
“We have had no light task during
these years of war. To have shouted
with the crowd would have been so
much easier than to have taken an
independent course [...]
“We tried to give a fair and accurate,
uncoloured view of the events in
foreign countries.”
TRIBUTES TO THE FALLEN
Many of those killed during the
four-year conflict were co-operators.
It is difficult to estimate the exact
number of co-operative employees and
members who lost their lives in the
war. In 1930, the CWS opened its new
bank premises in Manchester, which
included a national memorial naming
600 employees who had not made it back
home. The idea for the memorial came
from the Manchester Ex-Servicemen’s
Association, who contributed £100
towards it. Other CWS premises had
their own memorials, such as the
Longton Pottery Works, the Manchester
Boot Department and the London
branch memorial.
With its coverage of the Great War,
Co-op News not only brought the
horrors of the frontline to the public’s
attention, but also showed how
communities were coming together to
overcome challenges. While the world
was at war, Co-op News wrote about
a Co-operative Commonwealth and
international co-operation.
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