THERE was a brisk sale of miniature Serbian flags in Southampton 100 years ago this month as the town’s folk celebrated Serbian Flag Day.

None of Britain’s Allies needed help more sorely than stricken Serbia, and although Sotonians in recent weeks had enjoyed a glut of these special days for allied countries, such as Belgium and France, the success of Serbian Flag Day was never in doubt.

The Daily Echo report from the time claimed the success of the event was firstly down to the good foresight of the organisers to hold the event on a Saturday and while secondly, and perhaps more importantly, after the foul weather of previous days, the elements relented and the sun shone brightly throughout the day.

Nearly everyone in the town wore a little paper flag in their buttonhole, while proper flags flew proudly from the summit of the old Bargate and from many public buildings in the town.

Wearing sashes composed of Serbian colours, and carrying little cushions studded with an ever-diminishing stock of the coveted emblems, a bevy of fair vendors were afoot before breakfast time.

Few people they approached could resist the appeal of the ladies and the worthy cause they were supporting, the paper reported.

Mr W Bates, the honorary secretary who was responsible for the general organisation of the event, also spent a very strenuous morning, but he had a loyal co-operation of an energetic committee of ladies to assist him in his task.

To simplify matters, and to prevent overlapping, the town was divided into districts, each with its band of workers under a president.

Nearly 300 ladies volunteered their services and to sell a total of 45,000 were on sale and one particular lady flag seller disposed of more than 1,000 flags by midday.

These Southampton pictorial snapshots from the time show a number of fair vendors selling their wares to the Sotonians as they made their way about the town.

Serbia was key to the outbreak of the First World War when Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire, was assassinated in Sarajevo by Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Princip.

The Austro-Hungarians accused Serbia of being complicit in the assassination and declared war on Serbia, sparking a chain of events that saw the conflict escalate among the European powers.