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Remembered Today:

Hospital Gold Dust


Desmond7

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Cracking find today in old Wavney Hospital reports - dated March 4, 1915.

Sizeable list of soldiers from Buffs, York and Lancs, Cheshires, Bedfordshires etc.

Plus reporter interview a number of men and one says he took part in an action in which a Cheshire L/cpl was recommended for a DCM during 'Meanee Day' attack - whatever that it!

Also, a photograph of the wounded men in the hospital which I will copy tomorrow in work and post in evening.

Have to collect daughter from dancing now - will key in when I get back.

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First of all - the list - I must have overlooked this one originally. It’s dated March 4 1915. The interviews with soldiers follows after.

Wounded soldiers at Waveney Hospital, Ballymena.

Pte. H. B Crawford, 7th Northumberland Fus - wounded by bullet through hand at Hill 60 on April 25

Pte White, 1st Rorks and Lancs. Territorials

Sergeant W. Cole, 2nd Cheshires MG section, bullet wound in the wrist.

Pte Donald Pratt, 22nd London Regt. Territorials

Sgt. J. W Darrant 5th North Staffs. Territorials

Pte Herbert Myson, 1st Beds. shrp. wound on April 16 at the side of Hill 60

Pte. G. W. Pirfrey, 1st Beds. shrp. Fractured forearm

Pte Ernest Berry, 1st Beds shrp. wound on heel

Pte Joseph Crowe KOS orderes, wounded on left hand.

Pte Edward J. Jackson Queens Regt. injured on foot by accident on Easter Monday

Pte Hemsil, Lancashire Rget. shrp. wound on head

Pte James Finlay KOS Borderers shrp. wound on right hand

Pte Robert Butterstone, The BUffs, shrp. wound on shoulder

Pte George Barson 2nd Leicestershires suffering from bronchitis

Gunner George W. Harris RHA, shrp. wound on ankle

Sgt. Wm. Tingey, 1st Cambridge - suffering from rheumatism

Pte John Dainty. 5th KO Lancashire’s Territorials; shot through the jaw on Friday, April 22 during the attack on Hill

60.

Pte Charles Worth, Duke of Wellington’s shrp. wound on hand on 18th April at Hill 60 when bringing ammunition up

to trenches.

Pte Arthur Carr. R. Irish Regt. bullet wound on left forearm.

Pte John Denny, 1st Leinster Regt. bullet through left eye

Pte Edward Lycett, Yorks and lancs, bullet wound on chest wall

Pte G. Howard 3rd Middlesex, sharpnel wound on eye and hand about a fortnight ago.

Pte W. Skipp 1st Cambridgeshires, bullet wound in left breast.

REPORT:

Three men of the Bedfordshires were wounded by the same shell and two of them Pte Herbert Myson and Private G.

Pirfrey went to the front togather with a draft eight months ago.

It was a remarkable coincidence that they would be wounded by the same shell, sent to the same hospital and occupy

beds beside one another in the same ward.

The Bedfords were forming a part of the firing line at the time these men were wounded and the whole battalion

suffered very severely.

The majority of the wounded paid very high tribute to the gallantry of theCanadian contingent, all of whom ‘fought

like Trojans’. It appears that, when the French troops, who were on the left of the Canadians, retreated, the Colonials

became surrounded and were badly cut up.

A sergeant in the machine gun section of the Cheshire Regt. - Des: thsi can only be Sergeant W. Cole on the list -

kept an interesting diary of his experiences. He was out in India at the time the war broke out and went to the front in

January. On the 28th January they were inspected by Sir John French and the Prince of Wales duringa snowstorm. On

February 2 they went up to the trenches from Hazebrouck by motor omnibus, an 18 miles jaunt on a bad road.

The fighting was was pretty warm at the time, the German trenches were only 40 yards away. They fired occasional

rounds. Next day, the Germans tried to get through between Ypres and Lille, at the railway junction.

They attempted to get under a bridge and he was sent with the machine gun section where they remained for 24

hours without rations.

They had many casualties and his regt. came out of the trecnhes on the 5th at 3 o’clock in the mroning back to a

resting camp and he was sound asleep at six.

On the next morning, the Germans tried to break through and his Germans tried to break through and jis regiment

was called nack to the trenches.

The British artillery gave the huns ‘what ho’.

A machine gun sergeant was wounded. On the 9th both sides wwere quiet, “I thought they had all gone to Church”

On the nxt day, the Germans tried to bombard our trenches and an officer in his regt. replied with hand grenades

dropping two into the German trench. One of their corporals was killed and the L.cpl who was with him was

recommended for the DCM for going right up to the enemy’s trench and reconnoitering a position.

They returned to the resting camp on the 12th and up to them 10 of the regiment had been killed and 49 wounded.

He remembered nothing on the 13th: he slept all day. They were supposed to be going to the resting camp for eight

days but next morning they were called up again and they were up to the thighs in mid, on the German side of the

canal bank.

On Meanee Day, a big day with the Cheshires, two of their companies tried to attack the German trenches in the front

but owing to a barn being fired, the Germans obsrved the movement and the attempt was given up.

On the day he was wounded, the machine gun section was in an emplacement and the Germans were firing at them.

However, their aim was bad at the time and they could only strike the roof of the Cheshire’s cover. Then the Germans

fired from the loopholes at the bottom of the trenches and when he was getting a gun into position he was hit by a

bullet on the wrist.

Private H.B. Crawford of the Northumberland Fusiliers, whose home addres is Ashington, had a very brief experience

thought exiting while it lasted. He left for the front on the 20th April was wounded on the 25th and was in the

Ballymena Hospital on the 30th suffering from a bullet wound in the hand.

During his brief epxerience he kept a diary which graphically describes his journey right up to the trenches. After

landing his regiment lay around the railway tracks for three hours, waiting on a train and when it did come they were

coveyed in cattle trucks, 48 in each compartment.

They were billeted that night in a small village in Belgium where he witnessed a thrilling fiht between a British

aeroplane and a German taube ?Des.

The next day they were on the march again and late at night went into the trenches for the first time. Next morning

they lay in an open field till 4am and on saturday, 24th when marching to Ypres one would have thought the German

artillery had been told a new division was coming in. As soon as they halted the shells started to fly in all directions

and 12 of his comrades were wounded.

Going on a little further they took shelter in a field. Later, going on as first reserve in the attack on Hill 60 he saw the

firsy of his comrades killed. They lay in an open field within fire of the big guns. It was pouring rain all thetime.

Getting the order to advance, they attacked the hill twice but had to retire. It was during this retirement that he was

wounded.

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Plus reporter interview a number of men and one says he took part in an action in which a Cheshire L/cpl was recommended for a DCM during 'Meanee Day' attack - whatever that it!

Meanee Day is 17th February, named after an Indian battle in which the Cheshires were prominent. Still observed.

"...on February l7th, 1843, the small British force defeated 30,000 Baluchis at Meeanee. A month later the Baluchis were defeated at Hyderabad. The province of Scinde fell into our hands, and The Regiment gained the honours of Meeanee, Hyderabad and Scinde.

The honours of Meeanee and Hyderabad are shared with a few Indian Regiments. That of Scinde is borne by The Regiment alone."

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/ewh.bryan/Cheshire-12.htm

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Beppo - thought this one might interest you

When the chips were down ...

ITALY’s entry into the war meant a long journey home for one Ballymena citizen.

Charles Caulfield - he had anglicized his name from the Italian Cafolla - was called up by the Italian Government.

Mr. Caulfield, the man behind the famous Ballymena chip shops, had to leave his little ice-cream parlour which many will still remember at the bottom of Bridge Street, to enlist in the Italian army.

I hope all this list stuff is worth it! Surely somebody must be interested in it?

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Beppo - thought this one might interest you

When the chips were down ...

ITALY’s entry into the war meant a long journey home for one Ballymena citizen.

Charles Caulfield - he had anglicized his name from the Italian Cafolla - was called up by the Italian Government.

Mr. Caulfield, the man behind the famous Ballymena chip shops, had to leave his little ice-cream parlour which many will still remember at the bottom of Bridge Street, to enlist in the Italian army.

I hope all this list stuff is worth it! Surely somebody must be interested in it?

Worth it to me Des, and interesting stuff re: Italians being called up, although living in Britain. My people all left in about June 1915 and volunteered.

However, I did read in the Brighton local papers about a guy who was being conscripted into the English Army. The local papers made a cock up of his name, but my best guess is that it would actually have been "Di Mascio".

At the "hearing" (farce) to decide if he had to go into the British Army or not, it was said that, even if he was able to escape British conscription the Italians had called him up as well!

Two time loser!

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Bep - definitely says 'called up' - would that mean he ws an Italian army reservist.

And from the social point of view which you know I am interested in .. the Cafolla 'clan' made a huge impression on NI as did the Morellis and Fortes.

The Cafollas in NI changed their name to Caulfield because that was the nearest pronunciation to the original. I hate to be stereotypical but Caulfields has three chip cafes in Ballymena in my young days.

I remember the one on Bridge Street because it was on our way home and a special treat was to be taken in there in late sixties to see an Edwardian style cafe with big booths, a counter like an old fashioned pub and the smell ... talk about sensational!

WW2 regts. and the Yanks stationed here - at St. Patrick's Barracks -all talk abotu Caulfields. There's a guy from England who comes across regularly. He lost his wife some years ago and we did a story in the paper based on his wartime experiences in Ballymena - now he's over as often as he can get! He had his picture taken in the last Caulfield's shop when he first came over. He's getting on now and was involved in the 'ghost transmissions' from southern England pre DDay and immediately after. He said he spent the war telling lies to the Germans as a signalman!

Caulfields also boasted one of those big red fridges for coca cola in the original bottles. When you had a feed of chips from there plus a bottle of coke you were burping for the next three hours. All best Des.

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Bep - definitely says 'called up' - would that mean he ws an Italian army reservist.

And from the social point of view which you know I am interested in .. the Cafolla 'clan' made a huge impression on NI as did the Morellis and Fortes.

The Cafollas in NI changed their name to Caulfield because that was the nearest pronunciation to the original. I hate to be stereotypical but Caulfields has three chip cafes in Ballymena in my young days.

I remember the one on Bridge Street because it was on our way home and a special treat was to be taken in there in late sixties to see an Edwardian style cafe with big booths, a counter like an old fashioned pub and the smell ... talk about sensational!

WW2 regts. and the Yanks stationed here - at St. Patrick's Barracks -all talk abotu Caulfields. There's a guy from England who comes across regularly. He lost his wife some years ago and we did a story in the paper based on his wartime experiences in Ballymena - now he's over as often as he can get! He had his picture taken in the last Caulfield's shop when he first came over. He's getting on now and was involved in the 'ghost transmissions' from southern England pre DDay and immediately after. He said he spent the war telling lies to the Germans as a signalman!

Caulfields also boasted one of those big red fridges for coca cola in the original bottles. When you had a feed of chips from there plus a bottle of coke you were burping for the next three hours. All best Des.

Des

Italians did Military Service, so assuming that they had done it before they emigrated they could have been called up for the Italian Army after May 1915.

Only problem is that most of the mad ******* had gone back before they had to, and never needed to be conscripted.

There is a plaque in St Peter's, the Italian church in London, which names all of the London-Italian volunteers who were killed in WW1, more than you might think.

Take a look at this site for some info on the Anglo-Italian experience. Although tending to centre on Manchester it is interesting all the same:

www.ancoatslittleitaly.com

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Saw the Daily Mirror pic ... what a classic! And to think that some people .. see another thread - are throwing this stuff out! I am convinced that not enough people see history in whatever format, as a subject which is absorbing, educational and in may ways thrilling. i.e . when you get a wee success!

But that's for another thread. E-mail you off forum.

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Very useful. Spotted two Cambs Rgt men. Is the newspaper dated March 1915 or should it be May 1915 as some of the men were wounded in April?

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