18 SHORT HISTORY OF ESSEX FIELD CLUB.
Corporation of West Ham was signed, whereby the Library of
the Club was made over to the Corporation on the same con-
ditions as had been its scientific collections in 1898. The bene-
ficial results of this Agreement became at once apparent. The
Corporation generously undertook the liability for providing
new book-cases and for the regular binding of the volumes, so
that in a short time the Library became available for home
reading, which it never had been hitherto. By the beginning
of 1915 it was estimated that some 2,500 bound volumes were in
the Library, of which over 1,000 had been bound during the
preceding year. Today, no fewer than 5,873 bound volumes
are in the Library, and some 2,400 pamphlets.
At the Annual Meeting of 1914 Mr. S. Hazzledine Warren,
F.G.S., became President in succession to Mr. Whitaker.
The outbreak of the Great War in August, 1914, did not, at
the outset, interfere with the normal activities of the Club ;
but as time went on, field-meetings in most parts of Essex became
impossible owing to military occupation and consequent restric-
tions, and excursions had to be made in other, more inland, coun-
ties (Surrey, Herts and Middlesex) or in London itself. But
throughout the whole period of the War the field and winter-meetings
were continued; although, as enemy air-raids became more
threatening, the time of the winter-meetings was altered from
Saturday evenings to Saturday afternoons, so as to enable our
members to reach their homes early ; this change, which is still
in force as being more convenient for the majority of members,
was initiated in the autumn of 1915.
On October 31, 1914, the Club joined with other scientific
bodies in a public protest against the views on the war expressed
by certain German scientists.
In January, 1916, Mr. J. Avery, whose firm was assisting
the honorary treasurer (Mr. David Howard) in collecting members'
subscriptions, called attention to the fact that during the pre-
ceding four years fifty guineas had been received from Life-
Compounders, but that no portion of that sum had been in-
vested. As a result of this warning, a further £50 was at once
invested to meet this contingent liability. Since that time,
the Club has been kept fully safeguarded by investments against
this liability; and in March, 1917, the Treasurer (now Mr. Avery
himself) was able to announce that, for the first time in the