Spanish Flu and how Worcester coped: ‘Take care... and keep cheerful’

The Great War, which came to an end in 1918, saw about 16 million people die as a result of the four-year conflict.

However a new, silent enemy had already infiltrated the world and began affecting the young, fit members of society. An enemy that would come to take the lives of between 50 and 100 million across the entire world by the start of the roaring 20s.

This enemy arrived in three waves and went by numerous names including the Spanish Flu.

Some people spread the rumour that the influenza outbreak was a biological weapon designed by the Germans to win the war.

Today we know it was H1N1 and probably came to Europe via an American Army Camp in Kansas.

Medical advice from the period

Medical advice from the period

War, followed by the peace and armistice gatherings, drew people together and fuelled the spread. The mass movement of demobilised soldiers, repatriated prisoners of war and the wounded from abroad, travelled in overcrowded transports all adding to the worrying picture that was developing.

Major EC .Hawkshaw RA wrote an article for the local press entitled ‘’Fighting the so-called influenza”.

He wrote: “There is in my mind, little doubt that the cause of it all is brought into the county by soldiers from our many fronts…”

As the War was coming to a conclusion, the flu began to appear in Worcester.

The Medical Officers of Health began to issue notices and the local papers began to pick up on the rise of the illness.

Read more: Wander down the history of Tolladine Road

One reader of the Worcester Daily Times said: “Surely there has been enough death, suffering and mourning caused by this cruel war, without allowing an epidemic like this to rage in the city and county… if the Medical Officers of Health have not the power, I take it the Mayor and the Corporation who are the governing body of the city, should do so at once.”

In the early days, advice consisted of ‘Taking Care’ and ‘Keep Cheerful’.

This soon changed to a list of rules which included not spitting and using a handkerchief when coughing and sneezing.

In the Courts, Entries, and sprawling slums of Dolday, Birdport, Quay Street and St Paul’s some of the rules were impossible to follow, damaged windows and people sleeping in cellars preventing them from ventilating rooms with fresh air.

Avoiding overcrowded areas and shared spaces proved another impossible rule to follow.

The outbreak then forced the authorities to impose stricter rules on places such as theatres and music halls. The advice was usually to ventilate venues between shows and reduce the time of shows.

The sick were asked to stay at home and many doctors encouraged the wearing of masks.

The doctors, nurses and other medical experts who had spent four years dealing with the effects of industrial warfare, immediately stepped into the new front line at home.

The Worcester Daily Times described their work: “They are working from early morning till midnight… busier than they ever have been since the beginning of the war.”

Dr Read, the City Medical Officer of Health was very worried by the end of 1918 and said: “The Influenza that was now raging in the city is widespread and severe… it ranks with a plague in long-past days.”

Modern research shows that the nation was probably weaker than it had been due to the food shortages and rationing that had been brought in towards the end of the war. Reduced vitamin A, B12, C and D would leave people open to illness.

Some doctors recommended fortifying drinks such as whisky (in moderation), Horlicks and the most common – taking copious amounts of Bovril!

By the start of 1920, 1,663 Worcestershire people had died from the Spanish Flu. Across Britain the death toll stood at a 250,000.

Sometimes we don’t learn fast enough from history, however one thing that is clear is that humans have faced wars, famine and plague since the dawn of time and will always emerge stronger than ever before.