Warrant to visit a wounded soldier overseas

[CarylW]

Noticed in the service record of Private Charles Leslie Bibby 15784 17th Bn. King's Liverpool Regiment when he was seriously, then critically ill with a gunshot wound to the chest at 25 General Hospital Abbeville France, a series of three telegrams sent to Preston, one of which sent on the 15th August 1916 states "Please send warrant immediately to Miss Beatrice Bibby, Waldorf Hotel, Aldwych, London, who will at once proceed Abbeyville to visit her brother will pay own expenses. Sadly Charles Bibby died on 17th August, so she may not have been in time. The final telegram sent on the 17th August stated that his condition had changed from 'formerly seriously' to 'dangerously ill'

What form were 'Warrants' sent to family members to visit wounded service personnel overseas?

The first telegram stated that public funds would be available for family to travel. This must have taken time to arrange and probably in many cases arrived too late?

Caryl

[truthergw]

Noticed in the service record of Private Charles Leslie Bibby 15784 17th Bn. King's Liverpool Regiment when he was seriously, then critically ill with a gunshot wound to the chest at 25 General Hospital Abbeville France, a series of three telegrams sent to Preston, one of which sent on the 15th August 1916 states "Please send warrant immediately to Miss Beatrice Bibby, Waldorf Hotel, Aldwych, London, who will at once proceed Abbeyville to visit her brother will pay own expenses. Sadly Charles Bibby died on 17th August, so she may not have been in time. The final telegram sent on the 17th August stated that his condition had changed from 'formerly seriously' to 'dangerously ill'

What form were 'Warrants' sent to family members to visit wounded service personnel overseas?

The first telegram stated that public funds would be available for family to travel. This must have taken time to arrange and probably in many cases arrived too late?

Caryl

Warrants were required for British civilians to travel around behind the lines. They specified dates and where the holder was allowed to go. There was more than one scandal when people tried to travel without them. Poiticians and newspaper men, if I recall correctly.

[Terry_Reeves]

Caryl

They refer to travel warrants, which were issued by the War Office and were exchanged for a ticket. The British Red Cross Society met the relatives and organised transport accommodation for them in France. Travel arrangements could be made quite quickly, within about 48 hours I think, although for some it may have been to late.

TR

[SiegeGunner]

Were Charles and Beatrice members of the Liverpool Bibby shipping family? If so, and if she could afford to stay at the Waldorf, one assumes Beatrice did not need her ticket paid for, so she presumably only needed the warrant as a permit to travel to Abbeville.

French sources often talk of the 'Zone des Armées', which refers to the area under direct military control (and which probably included Abbeville), but I've never been able to discover its boundaries.

[CarylW]

Were Charles and Beatrice members of the Liverpool Bibby shipping family?

Fathers company, J. Bibby & Sons, Ltd. Seed Crushers, Bootle, Liverpool (Charles Bibby's brother Joseph Morton Bibby also lost his life, killed in action 3rd May 1917, another brother wounded and invalided home)

Yes I can see how Beatrice would have been able to afford her own travel expenses, they were a wealthy family, apparently

Thanks for replies. I can understand the reasons they would have been issued, must have been hard to control the flow of people travelling though

Would the warrant have been in the form of a telegram? Surely a letter would have taken too long to arrive for many?

Caryl