This week we have added 131,666 new pages to The Archive. We have updated six of our existing titles, spanning England, Scotland and Ireland.

This week sees updates to the Drogheda Argus and Leinster Journal and the Evening Herald (Dublin), as well as additions to the Scottish Referee and the Liverpool Echo.

We have also added pages to the Mid Sussex Times, which cover the years 1914-1918. The paper offers a fascinating insight into life on the home front during the First World War. From the spy mania upon the outbreak of war, which saw an innocent French tourist dragged before authorities for riding a bicycle and carrying a map in Balcombe, to reports on the latest foods to be rationed – jam, marmalade, syrup, treacle and honey as of 15 October 1918 – the Mid Sussex Times includes a ‘War Bullets!’ section which gives an intriguing glimpse into all aspects of life in wartime.

Mid Sussex Times | 9 February 1915

One of the more unusual wartime cases covered in the Mid Sussex Times is that of Gisele Scholl. During the First World War, so-called enemy aliens were required to register with authorities, whilst over 32,000 German and Austro-Hungarian civilians were interned in Britain in the years 1914-1918.

Gisele Scholl, née Mullins, a British citizen, had married a German named Carl Scholl four months before the outbreak of war in 1914. Carl Scholl had returned to Germany soon after the marriage, and did not come back to Britain, fighting instead for his country. Despite Gisele being British, she was now considered an enemy alien by marriage.

Gisele and her mother appeared before Haywards Heath Petty Sessions in August 1915. Gisele was summoned ‘for being an alien in a prohibited area without a permit,’ and her mother, Mrs Constance Mullens, was summoned ‘for aiding and abetting an alien enemy to reside in a prohibited area.’

During the hearing, Mrs Mullens affirmed that she hated the Germans, telling the magistrates that she ‘disapproved of the marriage, but I have now got over it.’ She ‘hated the Germans, and that she was extremely sorry that her daughter had married a German.’

The question of ignorance of the law was raised, Gisele only being 21 years of age. However, her mother had employed a German maid whilst she lived in Hove, and knew about the registration of aliens. Mrs Mullens contested that she did not know that her daughter was an alien, but to no avail. Gisele was fined £10 and Mrs Mullens £5. You can read the full story here.

UPDATED TITLES

This week we have updated some of our recently added titles.

You can learn more about each of the titles we have added to this week by clicking on their names. On each paper’s title page, you can read a FREE sample issue, learn more about our current holdings, and our plans for digitisation.

Register now and explore the Archive

You can keep up to date with all the latest additions by visiting the recently added page.  You can even look ahead to see what we’re going to add tomorrow.