John-B-Rooks Posted 2 September , 2012 Share Posted 2 September , 2012 The following letter relates to my maternal grandmother and is from the Director-General, Army Medical Services. Can someone decypher his name please. I will shortly be putting up a three page report of her voyages in HMHS Britannic. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue Light Posted 2 September , 2012 Share Posted 2 September , 2012 He's Sir Alfred Keogh Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John-B-Rooks Posted 2 September , 2012 Author Share Posted 2 September , 2012 Thanks for the quick response Sue. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John-B-Rooks Posted 3 September , 2012 Author Share Posted 3 September , 2012 This is the transcription of her report relating to the time my grandmother spent with HMHS Britannic. October 19th 16. Thursday Joined Ship Britannic Oct 20th Friday Sailed Oct 21st Saturday. In Bay of Biscay Oct 22nd Sunday Off Coast of Portugal Oct 23rd Monday Off Coast of Spain Oct 24th Tuesday Passing Sardinia Oct 25th Wednesday Reached Naples 8-a.m. Had lunch in Naples. Train for Pompei. 1-p.m. Oct 26th Thursday Left Naples 5- 30 -p.m. Oct 27th Friday Entered Straits of Messina 7- a.m. Oct 28th Saturday Reached Mudros 3-30 p.m. Oct 29th Sunday Busy Embarking patients all day Oct 30th Monday Left Mudros. 12. noon. ----------------------------------------------------------- Nov 5th Sunday All day in the Channel. Nov 6th Monday Went into S. hampton docks 8- a.m. Disembarking Patients Nov 7th Tuesday Anxiously waiting leave Nov 11th Saturday Joined boat again Nov 12th Sunday Left Naples for M Left S.Hampton Nov 19th Sunday Left Naples for Mudros 4*-30- p.m. Very rough Nov 21st Tuesday 8-10 a.m. Torpedoed. Took to boats Ship went down completely 8-50- a.m. With every thing we possessed. 10.30. a.m. Same morning went on Torpedo destroyer HMS Scourge 4.30. p. m. went on Battle Ship H.M.S. Duncan in harbour of Pireus ----------------------------------------------- 6. p.m.. On French ship taken to Phalire and taken to Hotel Aktaion hotel first decent meal that day 10- p.m. Nov 22nd Wednesday Breakfast 9- a.m. Went Shopping for bare necessities to “Athens” Home for lunch. Went to old Athens in afternoon. Which was most Enjoyable. Nov 27th Monday Joined Ship H.M.H.S Granville Castle Nov 28th Tuesday Left Pireus 9- 30 a.m. Nov 30th Thursday Arrived in Malta All sent to different hospitals 10 of us sent to Imtarpha Hospital The original report in pencil on very thin blue paper follows. I hope it is of interest. More to come. Cheer ho John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alf mcm Posted 3 September , 2012 Share Posted 3 September , 2012 Very interesting John, thanks for sharing this with us. Regards, Alf McM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John-B-Rooks Posted 3 September , 2012 Author Share Posted 3 September , 2012 What ho all. This photograph represents an off-duty moment - possibly late 1914 or early 1915. My reason for suggesting it's early in the war is because neither nurse is wearing a QAIMNS Reserve medallion although (I think) all other photos I have of my grandmother (on the right in this picture) in uniform show her wearing one. I'm fairly certain that the other nurse is holding a Kodak Box Brownie camera. Cheer ho and enjoy. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John-B-Rooks Posted 3 September , 2012 Author Share Posted 3 September , 2012 Here are transcriptions of two letters sent to my grandmother by bereaved families. I hope they shed a little light on the feelings of loss for those left on the home front. I will post photos of the original documents shortly. I have tried to keep original spellings and punctuation intact hence some oddities are apparent. Transcription of a letter to Sister Penny, Ward 03, No 8 General Hospital, Rouen, B.E.F. Avonhill Barnwood Road Gloucester 10.6.17 My dear Sister. Will you please accept the writing case as a little keepsake, from Hayward‘s people & in memory of him. I hope it is what you need, & that it will be very useful to you - & you d’ont know how much we thank you, for all the care & attention which he received during his illness. His friend Leslie Harper is here with me for the week - end. It is such a comfort to us both to be able to talk of Hay. We would not bring him back if we could, & the thought that he is still able to take part in the interest of his dear ones, helps to make us brave in our great loss. I hope you are keeping fit. I expect that Ward 03 will soon be full again after this heavy fighting - The photos of Hayward are not yet done - but I shall not forget - I am so glad you like to have one. Very kind remembrances Sister Yours very sincerely Connie Pidsley ________________________________________________________________________ Transcription of a letter to Sister E.M. Penney. 64 C.C.S., France. 86 High Street Barry 31/8/17 Dear Sister We desire to thank you for your kind letter of sympathy to us in our sad bereavement. Our Dear boy was our only son and we sadly miss him We thank you for your loving attention to our dear boy One favour I would ask of you. That is that you would please furnish us with your home address so that if at any future xtime we could meet you and thank you personally for your Great Kindness. May God bless you & protect you all to continue in your good and Glorious work is the prayer of Yours Very Sincerely John B Jones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seaJane Posted 4 September , 2012 Share Posted 4 September , 2012 Oh, that last letter is heartbreaking. It really is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John-B-Rooks Posted 4 September , 2012 Author Share Posted 4 September , 2012 Here are the original documents transcribed above. These are the two that survive sent to my grandmother but I wonder just how many thousands of these were received by other nurses over the course of the war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John-B-Rooks Posted 4 September , 2012 Author Share Posted 4 September , 2012 This is the writing case sent by Connie Pidsley, showing the ravages of time after 95 years but containing a few items into the 1960s suggesting it was used for over fifty years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John-B-Rooks Posted 4 September , 2012 Author Share Posted 4 September , 2012 Last photographs for now, showing life on a ward. Unfortunately these are orphan pictures with no information attached but on the basis that the ward is open to the elements, I suspect it is either Malta or Italy, both places where my grandmother was stationed. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John-B-Rooks Posted 7 September , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 September , 2012 A little set relating to The Hotel Miramare, which I believe to be in Italy (from a largeCinzano placard in one of the shots - to be added later and possibly in a new thread) and taken (probably) in 1918. These differ in character from nearly all the other photographs in that they give every impression of being professionally taken. The picture of the medical staff is about life-size. My grandmother is standing just to the right behind the centrally seated officer (in line with the window frame). John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue Light Posted 7 September , 2012 Share Posted 7 September , 2012 John They are very interesting photos of the Hotel Miramare - there is another thread here with information about hospitals in Genoa, and another photo of the Miramare Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John-B-Rooks Posted 7 September , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 September , 2012 On 08/09/2012 at 07:03, Sue Light said: John They are very interesting photos of the Hotel Miramare - there is another thread here with information about hospitals in Genoa, and another photo of the Miramare Sue Thank you Sue. It is helping me build up a better picture of what my grandmother was doing. I believe she may have ended the war in Italy suffering from influenza. She was finally demobilized in March 1919. She married in 1920 but seems to have renewed her nursing credentials in 1924 having born one daughter (1922 d 2012) and probably already pregnant with her second, born in '24 (d 1968). A further two daughters were born in 1926 and '28 (my mother). I know she was nursing throughout the 2nd World War in a civilian capacity. She trained at the Hackney Union Infirmary (where my grandfather was a gate porter in 1911 and probably earlier) between 1910 and 1913 when she graduated as a staff nurse resigning later that year to work in a Harley Street clinic. I understand that she joined up within days of war being declared. This collection has come from her eldest daughter who passed away this year. It isn't relevant to this site (too early) but I have her (parchment) graduation certificate from the infirmary. Thanks for your interest. John ps. In that I have turned up no records of her service in WO399, I believe she was weeded out as a married woman in the '30s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John-B-Rooks Posted 8 September , 2012 Author Share Posted 8 September , 2012 This is the known picture of the Britannic survivors outside the Hotel Aktaion, a cropped version of which appears in Simon Mills' HMHS Britannic - The Last Titan. It is not in very good condition and probably beyond restoration - even with pixel replacement technology - but it shows my grandmother (circled). There seem to be quite a number of civilians and several children who have muscled in on the action. How many of the staff are identifiable? Does anybody know? At the risk of being boring, I have a few more more pictures to load. Cheer ho for now. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue Light Posted 8 September , 2012 Share Posted 8 September , 2012 Yes John, a great pity that her file hasn't survived, but thank goodness you have the photos and letters to give some clues. With reference to the latest photo, the Matron seated in the centre is Elizabeth Ann Dowse. Born in 1855, she joined the Army Nursing Service in 1886 and served until 1910, including three years in South Africa during the Boer War. She rejoined on the outbreak of the Great War and was appointed Matron on the Britannic. She was much maligned by Vera Brittain in ‘Testament of Youth,’ who described her as a ‘a sixty-year-old “dug-out” with a red cape and a row of South African medals ...’. Although not present at the sinking, Brittain later related a story told by another survivor: The old Matron, motionless as a rock, sat on the boat deck and counted the Sisters and nurses as they filed past her into the boats, refusing to leave until all were assembled. None of the women were lost ... ... In one of the boats sat the Matron, looking towards the doomed Britannic while the rest of its occupants, with our friend among them, anxiously scanned the empty horizon. She saw the propeller cut a boat in half and fling its mutilated victims into the air, but, for the sake of the young women for whom she was responsible, she never uttered a sound nor moved a muscle of her grim old face. What a pity it is, I meditated as I listened, that outstanding heroism seems so often to be associated with such unmitigated limitations! How seldom it is that this type of courage goes with an imaginative heart, a sensitive, intelligent mind! I say three cheers for Elizabeth Ann Dowse and thank goodness for her ‘unmitigated limitations’ and how wonderful it is that the world, at that time, was not entirely composed of Vera Brittains. Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John-B-Rooks Posted 8 September , 2012 Author Share Posted 8 September , 2012 I say three cheers for Elizabeth Ann Dowse and thank goodness for her ‘unmitigated limitations’ and how wonderful it is that the world, at that time, was not entirely composed of Vera Brittains. Sue Hear, hear Sue. This might be why my g/m (reportedly) never said a good word about VB. I understand her attitude in that direction could be described as 'scathing'. Should you want a high quality scan of any of these in the future, please e-mail me and I'll happily make it available to you (for strictly non-commercial purposes) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue Light Posted 9 September , 2012 Share Posted 9 September , 2012 Thanks John The photos on here are great for reference purposes - if there are any I need to have a closer look at in the future I'll let you know. Regards --- Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John-B-Rooks Posted 10 September , 2012 Author Share Posted 10 September , 2012 My grandmother (red spot) and colleagues in relaxed frame of mind. Why g/m is showing the soles of her shoes in one of the frames - who knows. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue Light Posted 10 September , 2012 Share Posted 10 September , 2012 Goodness knows how they could be on their feet all day with those boots. And I wonder why the VAD on the right has a dark belt - I wonder if she was an Assistant Nurse with a red belt, though I'm not even sure that they wore red belts - it's just somewhere hidden in my brain (or on my hard drive). Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John-B-Rooks Posted 10 September , 2012 Author Share Posted 10 September , 2012 Goodness knows how they could be on their feet all day with those boots. And I wonder why the VAD on the right has a dark belt - I wonder if she was an Assistant Nurse with a red belt, though I'm not even sure that they wore red belts - it's just somewhere hidden in my brain (or on my hard drive). Sue I don't know for certain but might it be something to do with her training hospital - hence the lady in the middle back wearing a tie. Having said that I can't think of a hospital where nursing staff wore ties - maybe somewhere outside London. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue Light Posted 10 September , 2012 Share Posted 10 September , 2012 John All the women would have been wearing strictly regulation uniform and the VADs would have no choice in what they wore. Their black crepe-de-chine ties were part of the official outdoor uniform, but goodness knows why it's being worn with indoor dress. Maybe they were having a funny five minutes and the variations are their equivalent to schoolgirls hitching their skirts up in the 1960s! Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John-B-Rooks Posted 10 September , 2012 Author Share Posted 10 September , 2012 John All the women would have been wearing strictly regulation uniform and the VADs would have no choice in what they wore. Their black crepe-de-chine ties were part of the official outdoor uniform, but goodness knows why it's being worn with indoor dress. Maybe they were having a funny five minutes and the variations are their equivalent to schoolgirls hitching their skirts up in the 1960s! Sue Seems most logical . Thank you. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John-B-Rooks Posted 9 October , 2012 Author Share Posted 9 October , 2012 There are still a few photographs to come, including another two taken in the days after arrival in Athens. These are the documents relating to Edith's demobilization in March 1919. The pre-printed letter of thanks for service has had gender specifics altered throughout because it hadn't been designed for females. I hope these three documents prove of interest. Cheer ho John. Three pictures under 250kb total and it wouldn't allow them so we'll try again for the second two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 18 October , 2012 Share Posted 18 October , 2012 Hi John Thank you for sharing your really interesting post about your grandmother and her journey in HMHS Britannic. I am eight months away from finishing a book for The History Press about the VADs and nurses who travellled and worked onboard this vessel, called 'Britannic Nurses'. I would love to include this information about your relative. You can read more at www.vincetremayne.com. Many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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