1915

The Institute reported a successful year, with the senior football team ‘Dingle’ winning the Championship, and the boxing class showing ‘extraordinary zeal’. The social room games of ping-pong, bagatelle, draughts, ‘Happy Family’ and Quoits proved as popular as ever, and the conduct of members was, as ever, a particular point of pride. This seemed to surprise the Committee, who remarked of their new members ‘‘The usual high standard of conduct has been maintained, although a larger proportion than usual of members have been drawn from those engaged in manual occupations as compared with those engaged in clerical work.’

The shadow of the war continued to loom large. A significant number of the City of Liverpool Cadet Battalion joined the Senior forces, and the report announced the death of former Company Commander Lieutenant Tharrat, who ‘was on board the ill-fated Hospital Ship ‘Anglia’, torpedoed in the English Channel.’

The Superintendent and an unnamed member of the Committee kept in touch with virtually all recent Florrie members in active service. At Christmas the Committee agreed that ‘appropriate’ Christmas cards should be sent out to all such members, ‘That this was appreciated there can be no doubt, judging from the many letters received from the boys themselves. The warm affection of members towards the Institute had been shown again and again. The expression ‘’The good old Florrie’’ is perhaps the most common in all their letters, and conveys the strong feeling they have towards the Institute.’ For Florrie boys at home, the war brought with it benefits of steady employment, which led to the Institute’s Employment Department being discontinued, ‘as work at the Docks and elsewhere has been plentiful and lucrative.’