The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1915-01-10
officer of the Scots Guards. on
Leave from the Front, Leaving
the Archbishop of Canter-
bury's Office with His Special
Marriage License.
London, January l

London, January l.
THE great war has had an extraordi-
nary effect in stimulating marriage
and romance in England and other
European countries
So marked is this tendency that It nav
be doubted whether the war will have the
effect so much feared by philosophers, of
permanently reducing the population.
Never have there been so many mar
riages in the upper classes of English So
ciety as during the war period. The
Church of England officials who issue
special licenses for marriages to be per-
formed away from church or under unusual
circumstances, have had ten times the
ordinary number of applications
This Is a striking proof of the popularity
OF marriage among the upper classes, for
they usually wish their weddings cele-
brated by a Church of England clergyman.
The ordinary and economical way of do
ing this is to have "the banns announced"
Tor three Sundays in advance of the cere-
mony This is slow work, and does not
suit the bridegroom, who has got "forty-
eight hours leave of absence to get mar
ried," or who has just been ordered to the
front
To avoid these formalities you must get
a special license. One kind, which simply
enables you to be married in a church
without previous notice, costs $40, while
another kind, which enables you to get
married where you like, costs about $3.50.
OF course, there are cheaper ways of
getting married for ordinary persons, and
a public official called registrar" will do
it for so cents.
The Archbishop of Canterbury has
issued an urgent appeal to all patriotic
young men and women to get married with
out delay Gin order that our beloved coun-
try may not lack men to defend it in the
future" In order to help the movement
the Archbishop ordered a large reduction
in the fees for licenses
This appeal has been responded to nobly
by both sexes There is no doubt that
many young women who refused their con-
sent or coyly lodged the question before
the war; have now cheerfully said "yes."
Many officers were just about to be
married when they were ordered to the
front. Those of them who have not been
killed have usually been able to obtain
leave of absence long enough to run home
to England and get married "Forty:eight
hours leave of absence to get married"
has become a common expression in the
British army
The front, where the army is serving, is
so near England that it is usually possible
to get home and back within twenty-four
hours. When the leave is extended to
forty-eight hours, it leaves time for a short
honeymoon.
One conspicuous instance of such mar
rage was that of the Baroness Beaumont,
who is peerless in her own right and the
Hon. Bernard Fitz Alan Howard, elder son
and heir of Lord Howard of Glossop, who
belongs to the historic family of which the
Duke of Norfolk is the head. The BRIDE
groom was ordered to the front with his
regiment, known as Lovat's Scouts, but
obtained the customary forty-eight hours
leave OF absence, got a special license and
was married at the Baroness Beaumonts
home, Carlton Towers, Yorkshire.
The Hon. Mary Gardner, the handsome
daughter of Lord and Lady Burghclere
and the Hon. Godfrey HopeMorley, eldest
son of Lord Hollenden governor of the
Bank of England, were married under SINH
lar circumstances.
Another wedding of the same kind was
that of Lord Edward Grosvenor, TN officer
Of the flying corps and uncle of the Duke
Of Westminster, and Lady Dorothy Browne
daughter of the Earl of Kenmare Miss
Gwendolyn Van Raalte, great heiress,
and sister of Lady Howard de Walden, was
forced by the war to postpone her mar
rage indefinitely with Lieutenant Noel
Francis. but he Unexpectedly obtained
leave Of absence and the happy event took
place.
Lord Frederick Conyngham, son of the
Marquis Conyngham, obtained leave from
his regiment, the famous Inniskilling
Fusileers, to come home and marry Miss
Molly Tobin, charming Australian heiress
living in London.
Lord Herbert Hervey, son of the Marquis
Of Bristol, was married to Lady Jean