The first speaker at the meeting was an Army Lieutenant who stepped onto the platform in his perfectly pressed uniform.
“Recruiting in the county of Durham had been very brisk,” he began. “But we need more men, and I trust that many of you young men present will consider it your duty to join the colours. The 8th Reserve Battalion Durham Light Infantry, now stationed at Seaham Harbour, needs more men to replace those who have gone abroad, and they also needed 300 men to form the nucleus of a new battalion. I want you to reinforce the first line! Men, materials and money are the immediate necessities. Does the call of duty find no response in you until reinforced, let us rather say superseded, by the call of conscription? What have you done? What are you doing?
What are you going to do? Wi
