People pledged thousands for War Weapons Week
Historian Malcolm Goode looks at how the public backed a scheme to provide funding to the war effort - known as War Weapons Week.
SINCE the ‘Miracle of Dunkirk’ in 1940, the British Government had been only too aware that we as a nation had a major problem in its persecution of the war, and that was due to a lack of fighting equipment.
Between the end of June 1940 and the beginning of 1941, the Government had come up with a scheme to raise money in order to pay for the mass production and importation of weapons.
The scheme that was announced was a fund-raising scheme throughout the nation whereby members of the public could buy ‘saving bonds’ that could be redeemed at a later date.
This initiative was passed down to all local governing bodies and that would include the Tutbury Rural District Council.
What it planned was that each parish council would organise a number of parades and fund-raising activities that would be known nationally as “War Weapons Week.”
In those days Tutbury Rural District Council consisted of the following parishes;
■ Anslow
■ Barton (including Dunstall and Wychnor)
■ Branston
■ Hanbury
■ Outwoods
■ Rough Hayes
■ Rangemore
■ Rolleston
■ Stretton
■ Tatenhill (inc Rangemore)
■ Tutbury
■ Yoxall
■ Hoar Cross
Tutbury Rural District Council organising committee set up to raise those funds, was to be chaired by Sir Bertram Hardy of Dunstall Hall.
A sum of £15,000 was the target set for the council to raise and the War Weapons Week would take place between May 3 and 10, 1941.
It could be said that the total of £15,000 does not look very much today (2021) but £1 in 1941 has the equivalent value of £51 today, therefore the target set was the equivalent of approximately £750,000 in today’s money.
It was announced that the War Weapons Week would be launched on Saturday May 3 by a grand parade starting in Tutbury at 2pm, Stretton at 3.30pm and at Barton starting at 5pm.
At each place it would be Colonel Sir Percival Haywood, Bart., who would launch the scheme.
In his opening speech Sir Percival said, “It would be by mechanical means that we would win this war, not if but when. It has been increasingly borne on me that some people in the country have failed to realise that they must not look at isolated reverses or successes, but at the main issue of this war, the aim of which is that freedom loving people should be allowed to retain their freedom.
“It is for that purpose only that the British Empire and freedom loving people were at war. “Give us the tools and we’ll finish the job”.
Selling centres would be open in each parish where, as well as at Post Offices and Banks, Saving Stamps and National War Bonds would be on sale.
Some weeks later a letter to the editor appeared in the Burton Observer. The letter from Sir Bertram Hardy, chairman of Tutbury Rural District Council Savings Committee and Mr A. E. Greatorex, chairman of Tutbury Rural District Council said the total of their War Weapons Week up to a was £78,032, 13 shillings - a considerable increase on the original target.
At the exchange rate of the day that sum of £78,042 would be equal to £3,797,785 today.