Innoculation Jabs

[grantowi]

What would a soldier be innoculated against before going overseas in 1914 ?

Grant

[Sandie Hayes]

Smallpox and typhoid. Google says tetanus but I don't think that was used until the 1920's.

Noel Chavasse had problems with tetanus during the war, I'm off to find out a bit more!

Sandie

[Sandie Hayes]

Noel was determined to save everyone from the effects of the oncoming winter and the dangers of living in the open. Tetanus was an ongoing worry for him as there was no vaccine (the vaccine for it wasn't developed until the 1930's). He obtained and was one of the first doctors to use anti-tetanus serum on wounded men. This serum was a great success, over eleven million doses were administered during the war and very few men developed tetanus as a result.

[grantowi]

Many thanks Sandie

Would they have been done for Meningitis as well ?

Grant

[Guest]

The MEF were only inoculated (sic) against Cholera. There is no mention of smallpox or typhoid for this theatre. It was not compulsory (see below) as I believe there was a large opposition in civilian life to some kinds of preventative medicine. The 29th Div claimed everyone was inoculated, but I doubt it... It was often mentioned in the diaries. The debilitating side-effects lasted a few days and many of the troops of the 10th (Irish) Div and 11th (Northern) Div were inoculated only days before going into action. I have seen reference to the ill effects this had in correspondence with Aspinall Oglander the author of the Gallipoli OH.

6th (Service) Bn Yokshire Regt - 1st August

Major Shannon's Notes: NOTES. (Dates unknown) I am not certain how many they are meant to hold, but we packed three double companies on one when we eventually moved to Gallipoli. We were several weeks at IMBROS, bivouaked on a sandy plain, very plain and exceedingly sandy, no shelter of any kind, about two miles from the KEPHALOS harbour. There were a great many troops there, rest camps for the Indians and Australians, also Territorials from Gallipoli. We rested there several weeks being very hard worked in the interim getting on parade at 05:45. We started doing constant practices of night attacks, including night landings from lighters, which might start at 7 or 8 pm and end at any time up to 3 am. During

this period inoculation for cholera took place, two injections at a week's interval.

6th (Service) Bn Leinster Regt: 1st August 1915:

MUDROS. 476 men inoculated (1st dose) against cholera..............

2nd August 1915:

MUDROS. 14 men inoculated with 1st dose and 350 with 2nd dose against cholera. Seven men refused to be inoculated

5th (Service) Bn Dorset Regt 24th July 1915:

Two inoculations against cholera were got in at IMBROS, which quite upset some men and made most people feel slack. ..............

4th August 1915:

Received second dose of inoculation (anti cholera). Ordinary routine.

6th (Service) Bn York & Lancs - 2nd Aug 1915:

IMBROS 0900. Bn innoculated 2nd time for CHOLERA. 2030 Bde Night Operations. Nothing of importance to report

8th (Service) Bn Northumberland Fus - 5th August 1915:

In bivouac. 6 Officers and 214 ORS innoculated for Cholera. (1st Injection)

6th (Service) Bn East Yorks (Pioneers

) -

4th August 1915

: Practised embarking & disembarking 500 men from lighters to destroyers. Two Coys were inoculated the second time for Cholera

Royal Gloucestershire Hussars Yeomanry - Lt Cripp's Diary

AUGUST 16th, 1915 We were all inoculated for cholera yesterday. It doesn't hurt and your arm doesn't swell -- no discomfort.

Royal Gloucestershire Hussars Yeomanry - Lt Frank Fox …

At sea all ranks were inoculated against cholera. That, and the prospect of submarines (the Royal Edward had been sunk by a submarine on 14th August) were the only troubles of the voyage which was favoured by splendid weather…

History of the City of London Yeomanry (Roughriders) - A S Hamilton MM

Early that evening the Caledonia sailed and more fortunate than the Royal Edward which had been sunk on the 13th with appalling loss of life,

proceeded to Lemnos without greater incident than that all on board were inoculated for cholera during the journey. A twenty four hours' wait followed while the remainder of the Div came up and as spent in Mudros Bay in the company of a vast

armada of transports and warships which had been driven from the open anchorages of Gallipoli by U-Boats.

1/1st Derbyshire Yeomanry

-

Trooper Cooling's Diary:

Nov.16.

First full day on board. Served out Life belts and ordered to wear them on all occasions. Inoculated for Cholera first time. Signs of sickness.

[centurion]

I believe that there were still some backwoodsmen doctors who opposed vaccination and also some religious groups (as going against God's will). Of colurse you'd not get that today although as my cat says MMR

[Sandie Hayes]

Going off subject a little but I've just been looking at

Medical aspects of the First World War

Article based on the extended content of Before My Helpless Sight - Suffering, Dying and Military Medicine on the Western Front 1914 - 1918 by Leo van Bergen.

In it van Bergen states:On illnesses tied up to the specific kind of warfare of 1914-1918 such as skin infections, myalgia, rheumatism, trench fever, pyrexia, trench feet, frostbite, trench mouth, pneumonia, diarrhoea, tuberculosis, bronchitis, enteritis, typhus, typhoid, Weil’s disease, diphtheria, dysentery, meningitis, tetanus and on the measures, such as declaring some of them a military offence, taken against them. “From 1916 onwards soldiers were simply forbidden to develop trench foot. The duty officer was obliged to ensure men took the prescribed precautions, and if there were too many cases of trench foot in a battalion, the officer in charge would be dismissed. Anyone who contracted trench foot, at least if he were an ordinary soldier or junior officer, would be court-martialled. This was not as unreasonable as it sounds. Like trench fever and trench mouth, trench foot was one way out of a terrible mess, court martial or no court martial. A very painful way, certainly.”

Is this true? Was trench foot/fever a court martial offence?

[CROONAERT]

... He obtained and was one of the first doctors to use anti-tetanus serum on wounded men....

Although it appears to have been well known enough in continental Europe to warrant an appearance on the record slip contained in the ID lockets of Italian soldiers from at least 1915...

Dave

(PS... just smallpox, typhoid and cholera for their Austrian opponents)

[Sandie Hayes]

Encyclopædia Britannica

[The reliability of vaccines was demonstrated beyond question]

....A bitter controversy over the merits of the [typhoid] vaccine

followed, but before the outbreak of World War I immunization had been

officially adopted by the army. Comparative statistics would seem to

provide striking confirmation of the value of antityphoid inoculation,

even allowing for the better sanitary arrangements in the latter part of

the war...

[Sandie Hayes]

Thanks Dave, that's interesting. Also interesting that the document relates to a soldier who didn't get his 'shot'. What are the ones he did receive? I can make out Cholera (I think).

As the vaccine wasn't developed until 1920's/30's, how do you think this was administered? An anti tetanus 'serum'. Orally perhaps?

Soldiers referred to the Typhoid innoculation as the 'TAB jab'. Quite fitting as they were innoculated against Typhoid A + B.

Sandie

[CROONAERT]

Thanks Dave, that's interesting. Also interesting that the document relates to a soldier who didn't get his 'shot'. What are the ones he did receive? I can make out Cholera (I think).

As the vaccine wasn't developed until 1920's/30's, how do you think this was administered? An anti tetanus 'serum'. Orally perhaps?

Sandie

It was administered by injection ('iniezioni')... and was for those wounded or otherwise injured (including frostbite) rather than a routine jab. The original owner of the ID locket (Soldato Norberto Masotti of the 43rd Infantry Regt) never got injured (though he did die in March 1917!), so that section wasn't filled out.

The lists are (L to R)... Smallpox, cholera, typhoid, tetanus.

Dave

[Sandie Hayes]

Grazie. Che riposi in pace.

[Sandie Hayes]

Many thanks Sandie

Would they have been done for Meningitis as well ?

Grant

Sorry Grant, I can't find anything on meningitis innoculations, plenty on soldiers being diagnosed with it though.

Sandie

[Guest]

Encyclopædia Britannica

[The reliability of vaccines was demonstrated beyond question]

....A bitter controversy over the merits of the [typhoid] vaccine

followed, but before the outbreak of World War I immunization had been

officially adopted by the army. Comparative statistics would seem to

provide striking confirmation of the value of antityphoid inoculation,

even allowing for the better sanitary arrangements in the latter part of

the war...

I think the Regulars inoculations rate was higher than the TF and the Kitchener's battalions. It certainly wasn't uniform within the British Army. MG

[grantowi]

Many thanks for all the replys.

I have a lad died in Swindon of meningitis at the same time that they were being innoculated.

I just wondered if there was a link between the two

Cheers

Grant

[David B]

When did the dispensing of various innoculations begin? Reason I ask this is in perusing the records of one of my relatives there is a distinct lack of recording of any vaxes etc prior to going

to France. His record states that he was vaccinated twice in 1885 - when he joined and re vaccinated in 1901, prior to being posted to Gibraltar. There are no further entries on his record.

As far as meningitis is concerned there was no serum/vax available or given even when I joined the services in 1948.

[CGM]

Going off subject a little but I've just been looking at

Medical aspects of the First World War

..........Is this true? Was trench foot/fever a court martial offence?

Prevention of trench foot was taken very seriously indeed.

This thread is packed with information SEE HERE.

CGM

[djcrtoye]

I know that my ggranda got his jabs when he signed up in 1903, but nothing regarding a booster when sent over seas in August 1914. He was sent to France.

[Sandie Hayes]

Many thanks for the link CGM, I'll read that later.

[Sandie Hayes]

I have a lad died in Swindon of meningitis at the same time that they were being innoculated.

I just wondered if there was a link between the two

I can't find anything on the 'net to suggest WW1 soldiers were innoculated against meningitis.

There are 5 types of meningitis and I'm certain there was not a vaccine against each of them as early as 1918.

Even if it was developed then, the meningitis vaccine is not a 'live' one, it does not give you a mild dose of the disease to stimulate anti-bodies.

I doubt very much the innoculation programme and the death of your chap are linked (Keep in mind I only got Grade C in A Level Biology and that was over 30 years ago!)

Sandie

(The 5 types are Viral, Bacterial, Fungal, Parasitic and Non Contagious.

I've never come across 'non contagious' before but you can understand how the other 4 could become an issue in a trench environment).

[grantowi]

I doubt very much the innoculation programme and the death of your chap are linked (Keep in mind I only got Grade C in A Level Biology and that was over 30 years ago!)

Show off :-)

Many thanks for checking for me, Sandie

I did google it myself, but didn't understand what I was reading :-(

It was a long shot at best

Grant

[grantowi]

Many thanks for all of the replys, yet again

David, in another thread, someone mentioned that "their" men had been innoculated in Swindon in November 1914

Grant

[centurion]

Do we need to be clearer what we are talking about Inoculation and vaccination are two different things. By 1914 vaccination would have largly taken over from inoculation (much safer)

[Moonraker]

A couple of brief notes:

John F Lucy described in There's a Devil in the Drum how on mobilisation in August 1914 "we were all innoculated against typhoid, and some of the men fainted under the full shot".

From On the Fringe of the Great Fight by Colonel George Nasmith, a medical officer with the First Canadian Contingent on Salisbury Plain:

"I obtained permission from our Surgeon-General to try to get the rest of our men inoculated against typhoid fever. We had arrived in England with 65 per cent. of the men inoculated, and it was my ambition to get them all done before the division left for France...

My object was to educate all the artillery and cavalry units on the danger of using impure water, on typhus fever and how it was conveyed by lice, and on the value and necessity of anti-typhoid inoculation.

The following day I gave my first talk in a large shed in the town, to about 700 artillery men ... It was an attentive audience; the men had to listen, though as a matter of fact, they really seemed interested. When paraded next day 370 uninoculated were discovered and given the treatment; the few who refused were sent to the base depot and replaced by others.

... though the returns were not quite complete before the division left for France [in February 1915] , it was estimated that 97 percent. of the men had been inoculated against typhoid fever."

Moonraker

[centurion]

I suspect that they were vaccinated rather than inoculated