Henry Eggleston, who is the last Nash resident to attend the Village School, has loaned me a book containing an article from The New Scientist "The Last Word" column that he would like to share with you.

If you want to read the full article, I suggest you ask Henry. For copyright reasons I cannot reproduce the full article on this website. (Dave Gillow)

 

 

 

An entry in the local school logbook for Nash School, dated 9 November 1917, states 'Letter of thanks received from the Director of Propellant Supplies for chestnuts gathered for the making of munitions'.

So what is that all about? What were chestnuts used for and what is their link with propellants?

Well, it appears that chestnuts were used in the First World War to produce acetone which, in turn, was used to make cordite, the smokeless powder used for propellant in small arms ammunition and artillery.

Schoolchildren collected horse chestnuts as their part in the war effort.

So imagine Nash schoolchildren out around the churchyard doing their bit.

Thanks, Henry, for this interesting bit of local history.