December 31

The end of 1914 shows that the war would not be "over by Christmas". All nations at war have suffered appalling casualties on a scale never seen before. The Allies have suffered over one million casualties on the Western Front, whilst Germany has causalities of around 700,000. For Great Britain, whose Army now numbers over 1,685,000 personnel, BEF casualties total over 95,600 men comprising 18,174 killed, 50,969 wounded, 26,511 missing or captured. Casualties in the Royal Navy total over 6,100 killed, wounded, missing and captured. During the latter part of 1914, over 120,000 rifles have been supplied to the Army along with 274 machine guns and over 526,000 shells.

In France, battery 116 of the 26th Brigade RFA is moved to a new position and is in reserve.

December 30

Battery 117 of the 26th Brigade RFA is in reserve.

December 29

The 26th Brigade RFA headquarters moves to the canal near Givency Station. 118 battery is in reserve, 117 silenced enemy machine guns.

December 28 - The Military Cross

A Royal Warrant is signed which creates a new award for gallantry called the Military Cross. The Cross is to be issued for gallantry in the face of the enemy to junior officers of the Army who are ineligible on account of their rank for the Distinguished Service Order.

The Military Cross is cast in silver and incorporates imperial crowns in each of its four arms. The centre of the cross shows the Royal Cypher. The ribbon is white with a central band of purple.

The first awards are announced on 1 January 1915. By the end of the First World War over 37,000 crosses had been awarded, with 3,000 first Bars, 170 second Bars and 4 third Bars.

In France the 26th Brigade RFA enfilades enemy trenches north of Givenchy. The First Infantry Brigade - less the London Scottish and Black Watch - moves to billets in Bethune, and the 26th Brigade headquarters moves to Second Infantry Brigade batteries in the same zone.

December 27

Battery 117 of the 26th Brigade RFA is placed in reserve. Batteries 116 and 118 support the First Infantry Brigade.

December 24 - First bomb dropped on Britain

The first aerial bomb is dropped on British soil. The device landed in a garden near Taswell Street, Dover, on 24 December 1914, leaving a 10ft-wide crater and blowing a gardener out of a tree.

The 22 lb bomb was dropped by Stephan Prondzynski from his FF29 floatplane.

You can read more about this raid on the BBC Website and on the World War Zoo website.

The 26th Brigade RFA leaves its billets before dawn and is in action supporting the First Infantry Brigade. Each battery has an observing station at Festubert

December 23

Grand Admiral von Tirpitz announces that submarines will be used against British merchant ships in a bid to blockade British ports.

The 23rd brigade, RFA leaves its billets at 9.30am, marching to Bethune, where it arrived at 8pm and billeted for the night.

December 1

General Joffre

King George V visits base hospitals in France containing British, Indian and German wounded. He also visits the British Field Headquarters and the fighting line. The King invests General Joffre with the Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath.

On the Eastern Front, the Battle of Limanowa commences in the Carpathian mountains. The Russians begin an offensive and try to advance towards the Hungarian plains.

The death of Rear-Admiral Mahan USN, the writer on the influence of sea power in history, is announced.

The 26th Brigade Royal Field Artillery remains refitting and resting in the billeting are to the west of Strazeele. It remains here until 23 December.

November 21

The Friedrichshafen Raid

The Battle of Basra ends with British-Indian forces occupying Basra. Its capture is a major step in protecting the Persian oilfields.

British aircraft attack the Zeppelin workshops at Friedrichshafen. The raid is undertaken by members of the Royal Naval Air Service. Commander Briggs, one of the pilots, is captured.

The 26th Brigade, RFA marches to its billeting area west of Strazeele, arriving at 3pm. The Brigade remains here until the end of the month.

November 20

In the latter stages of the Battle of Ypres, there are signs of the Germans withdrawing.

The British casualty list for the defence of Antwerp is published.

The 26th Brigade RFA hands over to the French. During the afternoon, battery 118 is badly shelled. All batteries had evacuated their positions by 6pm.

The Brigade planned to march through to I Corps billets, but found the road blocked. They spend the night on the road just north of Westoutre.

November 19

The funeral of Lord Roberts takes place in St Paul's Cathedral.

Lieutenant Colonel G B Hinton take over the command of the 26th Brigade Royal Field Artillery from Colonel Cunliffe.

During a riot in the Aliens' Detention Camp at Douglas, on the Isle of Man, five prisoners are shot by the guards. An inquest is held on the 20th and 27th November by the High-Bailiff of Douglas (the coroner for inquests) and a jury. The verdict arrived at is, "that the five deaths were caused by justifiable measures forced upon the military authorities by the riotous behaviour of a large section of the prisoners interned."

Knockaloe Internment Camp on the Isle of Man

November 18

With the German advance on Paris effectively halted, the French Government begins to move back to the capital.

British Naval losses to date are declared as 3,884 killed, wounded or missing. The figures exclude the loss of HMS Good Hope.

The Russian Black Sea Fleet engages the Trukish battleships the Yavuz Sultan Selim (formerly the SMS Goeben) and the Midilli (formerly the SMS Breslau).

The 26th Brigade RFA enjoys a quiet day near the Ypres-Menin road.

November 17 - First War Budget

The first War Budget is introduced into the House of Commons by the Chancellor, Mr Lloyd George. During his speech, the Chancellor declares, "The general public had no idea as to the costliness of the undertaking. ... We have at least 2,000,000 men serving the country under arms at the present moment, and, if the next million is enlisted ... there will be 3,000,000 men under arms. It is forgotten too often that, in addition to a very considerable Army, we are maintaining a huge Navy as well."

Lloyd George estimates the cost to the Treasury of the first full year of the war will be £450,000,000. Since this sum could not be raised entirely by taxation, he proposes a general War Loan of £350,000,000 at a rate of 3.5%. The War Loan is approved and becomes oversubscribed by 27 November. You can read more about the success of the War Loan here.

In France, the 26th Brigade, RFA is heavily attacked by enemy infantry and all batteries are in action all day. In the evening, 116 and 117 are moved.

November 16

The Allies take formal possession of Tsingtao after a siege which had begun at the end of October. It is the first Anglo-Japanese operation of the war.

The Siege of Tsingtao (from a Japanese lithograph)

A vote of credit for £225.000,000 for war purposes is passed in the House of Commons. British war expenditure is stated to be almost £1,000,000 per day.

14,500 "alien enemies" are stated to be interned in Great Britain.

In the 26th Brigade RFA, Colonel Hinton takes over from Colonel Coghill

November 15

The 26th Brigade, RFA remains in position. 118 fired on German trenches, with 116 and 117 fire on woods in their zone.

November 14

Lord Roberts

Lord Roberts dies of pneumonia in France.

Newspapers report that, "Lord Roberts proceeded to France to see the Indian troops at present fighting at the front, of which he was Colonel-in-Chief. He contracted a chill and succumbed, after a short illness, to an attack of pneumonia."

As Field marshal, Lord Roberts is one of the highest ranking and oldest (at 82) of the First World War dead commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

The 26th Brigade RFA fires in support of Lord Cavan's section all day.

November 13

The Prime Minister states British casualties to October 31 are 57,000 (all ranks).

The 26th Brigade RFA leaves Vlamertinghe and takes over position from the 22nd Brigade.

November 12

The House of Commons, debating the King's Speech, discusses "the treatment of alien enemies".

The 26th Brigade, RFA leaves Hazebrouck and marches towards Hooge, but turn back to Vlamertinghe as an attack is expected.

November 6

The 6th Indian (Poona) Division and other troops land in Persia at the beginning of an Allied offensive to protect the Persian oil pipeline.

The German agent Carl Hans Lody, arrested on 2 October in Dublin, is executed at the Tower of London. Lody is the first person to be executed at the Tower for 167 years. His execution took place in the miniature rifle range which is shown to the right of this photograph.

The 26th Brigade RFA marches to Hazebrouck to refit with the 36th Brigade and the 57th Battery. Refitting continues until 12 November.

November 4

The Russian advance into Turkish territory in the Caucasus reaches Anzap, allowing the Russians to advance into Armenia within days.

The Russian invasion of the Ottoman Empire

The SMS Yorck, returning to port following the bombardment of Great Yarmouth (see 3 November),  accidentally steams into a German defensive minefield in heavy fog. The ship sinks quickly with heavy loss of life.

Punch publishes "The Excursionist", depicting Kaiser Wilhelm as a "tripper", desperate to go somewhere and anywhere. Note how his suitcase has labels identifying his conquests so far, and the exact location of the ticket office has been censored. Although Punch suggests all the Kaiser's preferred destinations would not fall ("Line blocked"), Warsaw was occupied by the Germans in due course.

THE EXCURSIONIST

TRIPPER WILHELM "First Class to Paris"

CLERK "Line blocked"

WILHELM "Then make it Warsaw"

CLERK "Line blocked"

WILHELM "Well, what about Calais?"

CLERK "Line blocked"

WILHELM "Hang it! I must go somewhere! I promised my people I would"

In Belgium, the 26th Brigade RFA, is ordered to economise on ammunition, and its war diary records "very little fired all day."