alf mcm Posted 2 February , 2009 Author Share Posted 2 February , 2009 Thanks everyone for your great response. its been an education, and it's amazing how much information is out there. Regards, Alf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 2 February , 2009 Share Posted 2 February , 2009 but what was the "pass mark" for active service? I don't know about a mark but Colonel Heywood, the original commander of 6th Manchesters, was sent home from Egypt, after a final medical examination before the battalion went into action at Gallipoli. According to his service file, his eyesight was very good with spectacles but, without them, he could not make out faces a few feet away. Presumably it was deemed that he couldnt properly command if he lost his specs. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 2 February , 2009 Share Posted 2 February , 2009 I don't know about a mark but Colonel Heywood, the original commander of 6th Manchesters, was sent home from Egypt, after a final medical examination before the battalion went into action at Gallipoli. According to his service file, his eyesight was very good with spectacles but, without them, he could not make out faces a few feet away. Presumably it was deemed that he couldnt properly command if he lost his specs. And the really complex solution of having a spare pair hadn't occured to anyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimCatherall Posted 6 February , 2009 Share Posted 6 February , 2009 I have a memoir by Vivian de Solo Pinto who was very short sighted (The City that Shone). He passed the medical by being left alone to memorize the eye test board. He served with the Royal Welch Fusiliers in Gallipoli and on the Western Front as an subaltern until 1918. He served as second in command to Siegfried Sassoon at one stage in 1918 and appears in Sherstons Progress as Velmore. It s along time since I read it but he mentions the difficulty of wearing a gas mask over his spectables and how they would cloud up. He thinks about getting a respirator made with lenses in the eyepieces! I can't remember him mentioning breaking them at any point but I will read it again soon and see if I can spot anything. Its a great memoir by the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alf mcm Posted 6 February , 2009 Author Share Posted 6 February , 2009 Thanks Tim, He mustv have been a very determined character, deliberately going to war and knowing that he was so short sighted, and at a severe disadvantage, compared to others, especially if he damaged his spectacles. Regards, Alf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthew lucas Posted 6 February , 2009 Share Posted 6 February , 2009 not read all the posts here so this may have been answered, but all soldiers that needed them (and it may well have been the medical that found the problem in the first place) were given 2 pairs of specticals, so unless they broke both or lost both pairs no real problem, but would have to wait till they were somewhere they could get a new pair - now the ins and outs of that in the field i'm not sure of... matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 7 February , 2009 Share Posted 7 February , 2009 not read all the posts here so this may have been answered, but all soldiers that needed them (and it may well have been the medical that found the problem in the first place) were given 2 pairs of specticals, so unless they broke both or lost both pairs no real problem, but would have to wait till they were somewhere they could get a new pair - now the ins and outs of that in the field i'm not sure of... matt See my posts re the British Army Spectacle Depot which was responsible for supplying glasses to the army. They used the post (military) seemingly addressing the special specs envelope to the batallion CO from where the exact location of the soldier needing them could be determined. Medics had special forms that they could use to order specs from the depot. If the soldier was in France I suspect that it might take perhaps a week but if he was further a field it could take some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alf mcm Posted 7 February , 2009 Author Share Posted 7 February , 2009 not read all the posts here so this may have been answered, but all soldiers that needed them (and it may well have been the medical that found the problem in the first place) were given 2 pairs of specticals, so unless they broke both or lost both pairs no real problem, but would have to wait till they were somewhere they could get a new pair - now the ins and outs of that in the field i'm not sure of... matt Thanks Matt, It seems like common sense now to issue them with 2 pairs. I wonder if they were meant to leave 1 pair with the 'baggage', or always keep 2 pairs on them? Regards, Alf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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