2- 8 August 1914. "We came home again because of the war."

The entry for Monday 3 August 1914 is a classic. It would be fascinating to know exactly what happened and how the group managed to leave France. It seems strange that the group then stayed in Folkestone for over a week. Modern day parents would surely be keen to seen their children immediately if they had had such a traumatic experience but Ted and presumably the others seem to take it in their stride as just an interruption to the fishing and bathing.
Communications seem to have been good as evidence by the postcards which only seem to take a day or two.

There is a link from the Folkestone & District Local History Society website to an online book by J C Carlile entitled Folkestone during the war
http://www.archive.org/stream/folkestoneduring00carliala#page/n5/mode/2up
This describes the effect of the outbreak on the town and of the influx of Belgian refugees, but the SJD party does not feature.

2 Sun

We played cricket on the sand.

Postcard 2

L.D,B, 735 Wissant (Pas-de-Calais) – Le Camp de Cesar

[view of a grass fort]

To: Mrs Buckley, The Cottage, Weaverham, Cheshire, England

 Sunday
[postmark unclear, pencil annotation, Recd Aug 6^th)

Just received your letter – we are quite unsettled now + all are waiting for more news before we can decide anything – you are better informed than we, for we have no Eng. Papers. Ted is well and happy, don’t be surprised if he does not write for all is unsettled and rather restless. 

Yours F. Weedon

3 Mon

We came home again because of the war. Nearly lost our baggage.  We stayed in Folkestone.

4 Tues

I stayed at the ?Wild’s house. We went to the baths.

5 Wed

We went to the baths and we took a house, 13 Wear Bay Road. We went to a Picture House.
 
6 Th
We went to the baths. We went to the theatre in the evening.

7 Fri

We went fishing but we did not catch anything.
 
***
The Northwich Guardian for 7 August 1914 has a brief article entitled "Teachers return from the Continent."  The school involved is not named but  it is reported that 8 students and 2 teachers had cut short a trip to the Continent.

***

8 Sat
We went fishing – we caught three fish in the morning. We went to the baths. I did not go in them.