Wednesday 30 January 2013

Pte Archibald Barron

Archie was born in Mevagissey, Cornwall on Christmas Day, 1896. His father Fred was a Shipwright and married Selina Khymbrell in 1888. Archie had 4 brothers & 2 sisters both older and younger than him and just before the turn of the century the family moved to Devonport so that his father could take up work in the Naval Dockyard. It is probable that Archie also followed his father into work at the Dockyard as his Service Records indicate he would have been sent back to the UK to be re-engaged in work there in 1917, but this did not subsequently happen. If a soldier had a skill which was required for the "war effort", it was not unusual for them to be returned to that job, but often on a soldier's pay.

Archie was a pre-war member of 2nd Wessex Field Ambulance, TF and went to France with 25th Field Ambulance in November 1914. He served in the Nursing Section and although he was awarded his first Good Conduct Badge, he also fell foul of the disciplinary system several times for absences and other misdemeanours. Let us not forget that he was 19 when he went to war!

On 6th November 1917, he was admitted sick to the 3rd Australian Casualty Clearing Station. From there he was evacuated by Hospital Train to a Stationary Hospital, and then to the UK on the 13th November.

He was admitted to Mill Road Infirmary in Liverpool and diagnosed with Diabetes Mellitis. (This Hospital was the old West Derby Workhouse Infirmary and does not exist anymore, it having been bombed in WW2 with a great loss of life amongst patients and staff.) However, at the time, there were limited treatments for diabetes which was considered a fatal illness (Insulin would not be in use for another 5 years) and it is interesting to read in their medical report how Archie was put on the "Allen Starvation Diet", a diet advocated by an American doctor, Frederick Madison Allen. This diet involved drastic reduction of calorie intake, especially carbohydrates but it only
prolonged life by a few months.

Sadly, and inevitably, he slipped into a Diabetic Coma and died on the last day of January, 1918. He was brought back to Plymouth and buried in a family plot in Weston Mill Cemetery. The cross carries the badge of the RAMC. Several of the family were subsequently buried in the grave including his parents. He is also remembered on  Plymouth's Roll of Honour.

Wednesday 23 January 2013

Pte James David Allan

Pte Allan is one of my mysteries. There are two different families that I can attribute to this man, but no definite evidence for either. What I do know, is that he was probably born in Plymouth in 1891, and that he was probably a pre-war TF member of 2nd Wessex Field Ambulance.He was a Private, and his Regimental Number was 2130, a fairly late number for the TF units.

He embarked for France with the 25th Field Ambulance on 5th November 1914 along with the other first line Wessex units. I cannot find any record of him in the War Diary, nor newspapers, but in the winter of 1915/16, he reported sick and was evacuated back to the UK, and to one of the Exeter War Hospitals where he died on 15th January 1916.


His grave is marked by a simple stone in the small WW1 plot in the Higher Cemetery, Exeter. This little plot holds graves from casualties who died in the local War Hospitals and are only marked by the stone, and a central memorial. His name is also recorded on the Roll of Honour which was deposited in a casket underneath the Plymouth War Memorial on the Hoe.


Pte Arthur Richard Bastin

There were a large number of Bastins living in Exeter and Devon. Arthur's father Joseph worked as a jobbing gardener and married Mary Ann Broom in 1872. They had 9 children, one of whom died in childhood, which was not unusual in Victorian times. Arthur was the youngest, born in 1894 in the St Thomas area of Exeter. In 1911, he was apprenticed as a Brass Finisher to Willey's Foundry, a firm that was in existence in Exeter from the 1860's to the late 1980's and one of the largest employers in the city. In 1912 he joined the 1st Wessex Field Ambulance, Regt No: 1689, and trained as an Orderly in the Nursing section. His elder brother Ernest was also a pre-war member of the unit and probably influenced him to join.

Arthur was not a regular attender at first but in January 1914, was part of a squad of recruits who won the Recruit Competition at the unit's annual prize giving. His brother Sidney was in the same team. Arthur was mobilised with the unit on 5th August 1914. He was assigned to the second line unit  2/1st Wessex Field Ambulance and trained with them until recruiting bought them up to strength and they landed in France on the 16th January 1916. The 2/1st were put under command of the 55th (West Lancs) Division and served on the Somme, at Passchendaele, Cambrai and Bethune. 
North Evington War Hospital - Formerly a Poor Law Infirmary, built in 1905, it became the Leicester General Hospital, still in existence
Two weeks after the Armistice, Arthur was taken ill and evacuated via Boulogne back to the UK. He was thought to be suffering from nephritis but as an in-patient at the North Evington War Hospital in Leicester, he was diagnosed with a tumour on the small intestine. He never recovered from surgery and died from "exhaustion" on 15th January 1919. His body was taken back to Exeter and buried in St Thomas' Cemetery, Exwick.

Arthur's grave in the foreground, his brother is buried further back up the hill.

Sunday 20 January 2013

Pte Frederick Jacobs

Frederick Jacobs came from a military & naval background, his father Samuel retiring from the Army as a Sergeant with the 77th Foot (later Middlesex Regt) just before Fred and his twin Charles were born in 1882. Samuel then became a Civil Guard in the prison at Portland before disappearing into the historical mire! We know he married Jane Wall and that both of them were living in Portsmouth at the time of Fred's death, but the era in between is a bit of a mystery. In 1891, Fred, his twin and older brothers William and Ernest were to be found in the Portsea Island Union Workhouse, living as Paupers. His eldest brother George was living with his grandfather. Of his parents, I can find no trace. Although I cannot find a death, I believe Samuel died between 1881 & 1891 as Jane is found as a widow in 1901. Her death is recorded in 1928. She still added his name to Fred's CWGC certificate.

As often happened in Victorian times, the boys in the workhouse were encouraged to join the Forces. Ernest joined the Navy and became a ship's cook. Charles joined the Cameron Highlanders and in 1911 was a musician stationed in Aldershot. Fred himself joined up as a Boy Soldier in 1897, age 14. He became a Drummer in the Royal Munster Fusiliers and saw action in South Africa from 1899 to 1902. His medals held clasps for Wittenberg, the Transvaal and Cape Colony. He was then sent to India and whilst there, transferred to the Royal Scots Fusiliers. He returned to the UK in 1906 and discharged as unfit for further service in April 1907.
Bugles & Drums of RMF in South Africa. Which one is Fred?
After discharge, Fred went back to Portsmouth to live with his Aunt Eva, Jane's sister and started work in the Naval Dockyard. At some point, he must have joined 3rd Wessex Field Ambulance, probably when the TF was embodied in 1908. Despite being unfit for active service, he would have been a useful soldier, and as a Drummer, might have had some first aid experience.

War was declared in 1914, and Fred went overseas with 26th Field Ambulance, as 3rd WFA was re-named. He was promoted Corporal but in the winter of 1916, he was taken ill. On 20 Jan 1917, he died, probably in a CCS near Dury Hospital on the Amiens Road, France. He was buried in their cemetery, but after the war, his grave was moved to the Australian Cemetery at Villers-Bretonneaux along with over 400 of his fellow casualties, where he now lies with over 2,000 war casualties.




Saturday 19 January 2013

Pte Richard John O'Hagan

Known both as O'Hagan and just plain Hagan, Richard was born in 1885 in Camborne, Cornwall. His father was from an Irish family who had made their way down to Cornwall. Also named Richard, he was a gardener and married Elizabeth Mary Champion (widow of John Williams) in 1884. Richard Jnr was the eldest and only son. He had two younger sisters and an elder step-sister.
Richard's first job was Tin Mining but soon left for a job above ground as a Packer for the Great Western Railway, becoming a Platelayer after his marriage to Annie Vine in 1913.

Richard O'Hagan was one of the first to join the newly formed Territorial Force, attesting in Camborne on the 28th September 1908 at age 23 and becoming a Private in the 2nd Wessex Field Ambulance. His Regimental Number was 545 and he attended annual training at camp for the next 5 years, becoming Lance Corporal. He was called up for service on 5th August 1914 and stayed with the second line unit in the UK, possibly because he had just become a father, son Richard being born in January. His second son Robert was born in August 1916 and it is quite possible that Richard never saw him as he left for France with a draft to the 25th Field Ambulance in March 1916.

Richard was not an exemplary regular soldier. He reverted to Private rank on a couple of occasions after promotion and then on 10 January 1917, found himself on a charge of Drunkenness whilst on duty. Away from his family, seeing so much suffering and death, it must have been hard to cope at times, although he was not alone. However this occasion must haven been severe as he was sentenced to 21 days Field Punishment No.1

Introduced in 1881 after flogging was abolished, Field Punishment was in use in different forms of severity until 1923. It involved restraining a man, usually in handcuffs, or similar, to a fixed object, such as a gun wheel, for up to two hours a day. This would be carried out for 3 days in every 4. If the man had been sent to a Punishment Camp, the man would also be subject to Hard Labour.

Richard's sentence was carried out in January. Imagine standing like this in the harsh winter weather? We do not know if he was given much in the way of protective clothing. It always seems strange to me that a Medical Unit would use these punishments, but the Regular Army ran on strict disciplinary measures and FP No 1 was carried out over 60,000 times by the British Army during the war.

In June 1917, he was attached to the Royal Field Artillery on Water Duties. I think that his experience a few months earlier had weakened him and this may have been a move in order to keep him at the front. He stayed attached to the RFA, although still a member of 25th Field Ambulance, but in January 1918 was evacuated to No 44 Casualty Clearing Station with pneumonia. He died on the 14th and was buried in Nine Elms British Cemetery, Poperinghe. His widow married again in 1924 and died in 1944, remaining in Cornwall for the rest of her life.

Friday 18 January 2013

Private Charles Reed

Charles Reed was born in Bristol in 1881, eldest and only son of Albert & Eva Reed. He had two younger sisters and the family lived in St Phillips, Bristol where his father was an Insurance Agent. In 1904 he married Margaret Davies, a widow with two young girls, Ivy & Olive. Charles was now a Postman and in 1907 Margaret gave birth to their daughter Eva. In 1911, they were living in Redfield, Bristol but had moved to Brislington 3 years later.

Charles Reed's Service Records do survive. He was attested into the Royal Field Artillery on 8th November 1916 at the age of 35, and after a medical, was deemed unfit for service overseas, no reason given. He was transferred to the 3rd Labour Company, Royal Irish Regt in April 1917 and then to the Labour Corps. Then again, he was transferred to the Royal Army Medical Corps in August 1917 and sent to the Training Battalion at Blackpool.

In February 1918, despite being classified as unfit, he found himself landing in France, and then attached to serve with 24th Field Ambulance.  I wonder whether he requested this move, or whether the needs of the war expedited this change? We will never know! What we do know is that he served with the unit until 2 days after the Armistice, when he was admitted to 42 Casualty Clearing Station, suffering from Influenza, a disease that worldwide, would kill 3 times as many people than those killed in the war. Charles was evacuated back to the UK and to an auxiliary hospital of the Birmingham War Hospital in Hereford - Hampton Grange, which is still in existence as a Care Home. Here, he succumbed to the disease on the 13th January 1919. He is buried in Avon View Cemetery, Bristol. His widow never married but died in Weston-super-Mare in 1961. It is likely that his daughter married late in life and died in 1990.

This sheet from Pte Reed's Service Records details his last few days

"Glasses in case" "2 sets Dentures"

Sources, and the Search for the "Grail"

Looking for the footsteps left behind by these men can be very difficult and involves a lot of lateral thinking and bringing two and two together. There are a lot of documents, records, and archives out there to be found but the one holy "grail" of a man's military life  is the Service Record. If only they all survived..... but alas, the complete archive of service records including duplicates, was hit by a bomb during a raid on London in 1940. About two thirds were destroyed and many only survive in part and very badly damaged. However, there are some that do survive complete, and Pension Records were not affected. My one dream is that somewhere, out there buried in an unknown archive, there is a whole collection of duplicate records and I finally find out in what Royal Engineer unit my great grandfather served! It's a vain hope, I think.
The bomb that fell on Arnside Street and started that disastrous fire becomes even more of a behemoth when you do actually find a complete record. I have seen letters written by relatives, lists of a dead man's possession's to be sent back to relatives, telegrams telling a loved one of their death, exact burial sites, medical records, charge sheets, and their family details, all in these scanned & microfilmed documents. It is such a shame that so many were lost. A whole generation's memories gone in one night.
But there are one or two collections turning up as more and more archives are investigated and put on line. They do not always carry the detail that service records can give but add a bit more information to the picture. For example, Surrey have recruiting records; Manchester has details of local men enlisted into local units; Regiment s like the Royal Artillery are publishing their research online. Local councils are finding things in their basements, I think! Or in practically all cases, there is the poor little archive rat at the bottom of it who has made it their life's work to publish online. Much like me!!



Monday 14 January 2013

Memorial Plaques, Introduction

This Memorial Plaque in Exeter Cathedral commemorates the men from the 1st Wessex Field Ambulance, a medical unit from Exeter & Teignmouth which fought in the First World War. In 1914, the 1st Wessex was designated  24th Field Ambulance and sent to France in November 1914 with a regular Division (quite an honour). The 2/1st Wessex was the second line unit. It recruited and sent draughts to the 24th and later embarked for France in January 1916 as a separate unit.

Also from the West country but with no memorial (that I know of) is the 2nd Wessex Field Ambulance  and it's second line unit 2/2nd Wessex Field Ambulance from Plymouth & Camborne; and 3rd & 2/3rd Wessex Field Ambulances from Portsmouth & Southampton. Both the 2nd & 3rd were also designated 25th & 26th respectively and joined 24th in the 8th Division. The second line units also went to the Western Front in 1916.  The South West Mounted Brigade Field Ambulance also recruited from Somerset & Wiltshire and served with the BEF.

These plaques commemorate the men of the 1/3rd & 2/3rd South Midland Field Ambulances, who were based in Bristol and Gloucestershire. The memorials are to be found in Bristol Cathedral. Both units served on the Western Front from 1915 with the 1/3rd also seeing service in Italy. The West country also recruited staff for TF Hospitals based in the region -  the 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th Southern General Hospitals, (in Bristol, Oxford, Plymouth & Portsmouth) which took in many of the wounded from all battle fronts.

All these units have one thing in common - they are the First War antecedent units to 243 (The Wessex) Field Hospital (V), of which I am a member. In this blog, I will be posting about the men from these units, and also about war dead from my own family. I will also be talking about the history of these units and looking into first world war medicine in a bit more detail.


We in 243 have seen war, too. Members of our unit have served in many modern day conflicts - The Falklands, Bosnia, First Gulf War, Op Telic, and Op Herrick. We have now been involved in two tours in Afghanistan, and many go out as individuals attached to other units. But thankfully, up to now, we have only lost one person - our regular Training Officer who was killed in the Falklands. 

As a whole, the First War units did not lose as many soldiers as some regiments did, but each one was felt in families and in the community. The Wessex, and the South Midland Field Ambulances were Territorial Force units who all trained together before the War, and who all came from the same local area - much the same area from which our modern day unit recruits. Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire & Hampshire, and everywhere in between! Exeter, Bristol, Southampton, Portsmouth, Plymouth and many cities and towns. They were men from ordinary backgrounds - postmen, printers, labourers, miners, with a smattering of doctors, pharmacists and the odd nursing orderly. But they made a difference to so many others who served in the First World War, both military & civilian.

More about their History and deeds later......