A Spa Town in the West of England – One Day in 1915

The Cheltenham known to tourists today is an elegant Regency town, at its heyday as a spa, where the wealthy came to ‘take the waters’ in the first half of the nineteenth century. Yet there is one particular day in 1915 that had a profound effect on its population and is less evident in the history books.

Soldiers at Cheltenham Station

Here are some members of the 10th Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment on the platform of Cheltenham LMS Railway Station with their families on 3rd August 1915. Their first time in action was to be on 25th September 1915, the first day of the Battle of Loos, where most of the battalion lost their lives - only 53 days after this photograph was taken.

Using statistics

The following exercise will help you understand how the population of Cheltenham was affected. Don’t forget that this is just one day and although the worst, every day no doubt brought some tragic news to one family or another.

Click here to print the map of Cheltenham

Click here to print Roll of Honour for The Battle of Loos, showing the men of Cheltenham and local areas who fell on 25th September 1915, the first day of the battle.

All of the of the men listed in bold on the Roll of Honour came from the centre of Cheltenham. Look at the map of the city centre and mark the streets where they lived.