Deaf soldier

[Desmond7]

Love this one - soldier discharged note ... had been deaf in both ears for past five years ... 'this soldier has not heard a word of command since joining the battalion'!!!

I can just imagine how nicely he was treated by the drill instructor

[stuartd]

I wonder how on earth he actually passed the medical to get it? A recruitment sergeant more focused on getting as many men in and securing his bonus?

[Desmond7]

This guy joined on 24 September 1914 in a huge recruiting day in my home town ... in the region of 250-300 men being processed ... reckon he was with his mates in a huge crowd and the recruiting staff just fell down on the job (not only in his case but in the cases of a number of 15 year olds later discharged after letters from Mum went to the CO!)

[Desmond7]

IN fact, just hunted through the database and found that the deaf guy James Lawrence Clarke probably joined up with his brother! Classic. Eeven his bro was conspiring to sneak him in!!

James L. Clarke, Alexander Street

John Clarke, Alexander Street

[River97]

From 24 September 1914 to 15 December 1914. He lasted a total of 83 days, you gutsy lad. At least he had the gumption to give it a crack, and I would say he probably walked away with the silver war badge for his troubles.

Cheers Andy.

[eltoro1960]

My Great Uncle Tommy was registered blind and completely blind by the end of the, he managed to sneak in briefly to the Royal Scots in early 1915,before his eyes were 'found out'. God knows how he managed it but certainly in photos he does look blind at all. I think it was another case of weight on numbers being brought to bear.

Ironically he was handed a white feather later in the war whilst standing on a street corner checking the time on his Braille watch.

John

[David B]

He'd probably be like Cpl Jones in Dads Army. Always a half second behind everyone else, watching for the command

David

[Beau Geste]

He'd probably be like Cpl Jones in Dads Army. Always a half second behind everyone else, watching for the command

David

Hello David,

I wouldn't mind betting that there were a lot of Great War soldiers like that. I served with an armoured recce regiment during the sixties and the heavy armoureds we used were fitted with 56 mm guns. We didn't fire them"in anger" so to speak but range work etc created havoc with the hearing of a lot of gunners. Today, people in similar situations are equipped with proper ear protectors but in the sixties all we had were the rather flimsy radio headsets that didn't really muffle the sound.

During the 1914-18 war they didn't appear to have had even that level of protection so artillery soldiers and the PBI who were near the guns or under attack from enemy shells must have had a really hard time in this respect.

I don't suppose there are statistics on the percentage of soldiers who survived the war and suffered hearing loss for the remainder of their lives but it was probably high.

Best wishes,

Harry

[Tom Morgan]

I know somebody who seems to have the same problems as this soldier. The soldier may not have had too much trouble as long as the people he was talking to were close to him, and as long as there was no other noise going on. So with a bit of luck he could have managed the recruitment procedure. But in a situation where the person speaking is some distance away, and in the open air (like a parade ground), he would have problems and they would soon be spotted.

Tom

[Nigel Marshall]

I love stories like this, and I wish I still had a transcript of a police court report I stumbled across in one of the Leeds papers of the time.

The case revolved around a chap in his 80s who was brought before the court for repeatedly wasting the time of the recruiting staff at one of the centres in Leeds.

He maintained that even though he was in his 80s he was still fit and had a lot to offer, stating a preference for employment as a musketry or drill instructor. He told the court of his family's well known reputation for longevity and proudly announced that his own father had only stopped working as a scaffolder when he fell to his death aged 93!

The report mentioned that laughter was quelled by an order of silence from a very unsympathetic JP and the old man was sent on his way with a flea in his ear and a warning to leave the recruiting staff alone, otherwise next time he would be fined heavily.

He, unlike Des' man, never actually made it into uniform.

Cheers,

Nigel

[stevenbecker]

Mates,

I show many soldiers wjo enlisted in the AIF with deafness and eye sight problems, not to mention many other medical complaints that would if checked by some proper Medical officer who never have passed.

How and why?

Many soldiers who failed to enlist got someone else to do it for them, or they were just missed by the MO?

Considering many Female members of the country were white feathering any male then this is one of many reasons for enlisting when they clearfly could never pass a medical?

The main reason for enlisting is of cause, love of country and not missing out.

This appears to be the same in the UK as not dought in any other country during that war.

S.B