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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Friends' Ambulance Unit


Gustywinds

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Thanks very much.

 

However, I note that you have typed "Catchpole". Is this a typo of yours, or is he actually listed as Catchpole?

 

All the sources, as well as his family, several of whom I have met, are consistent with Catchpool..

 

 

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55 minutes ago, Magnumbellum said:

Thanks very much.

 

However, I note that you have typed "Catchpole". Is this a typo of yours, or is he actually listed as Catchpole?

 

All the sources, as well as his family, several of whom I have met, are consistent with Catchpool..

 

 

 

55 minutes ago, Magnumbellum said:

Thanks very much.

 

However, I note that you have typed "Catchpole". Is this a typo of yours, or is he actually listed as Catchpole?

 

All the sources, as well as his family, several of whom I have met, are consistent with Catchpool..

 

 

Corder Catchpole

49 Parliament Hill

London NW3

 

Olaf W Stapledon

7 Grosvenor Avenue

West Kirby

Wirral

Cheshire

sorry should POOL not pole 

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Corder Catchpool published two books on his WW1 experiences:

 

On Two Fronts, as mentioned earlier in this thread.

Letters from a Prisoner

 

And thanks, Barkalotloudly, for the correction.

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If you live in North America, or otherwise have access (through a proxy server?), you should be able to read  On Two Fronts, mentioned in the post above, on the Hathi Trust Digital Library

https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000447473

 

The Hathi Trust Digital Library also has Catchpool's 2nd book, but because this was published later, I think you would only be able to read it online through a participating institution (mainly American Universities)

 

Cheers

Maureen

 

 

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forgotten i have a copy of "On Two Fronts"

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  • 2 weeks later...

Lawrence Rowntree (grandson of Joseph) was with the FAU from Oct 14 to summer 15, then returned to York.

He joined the Heavy Section MGC in May 16 and was a tank crewman until 14 Sep 16 when he was wounded (probably behind the line)

Evacuated to Edinburgh, he was commissioned into the Royal Field Artillery and served at Ypres.  He was KIA in Nov 17.  

 

Laurie Rowntree.jpg

Edited by delta
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very lucky to just purchase a very nice copy of"A Train Errant" a record of the FAU that worked on ambulance train 16.1915-1919 

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  • 10 months later...

Hi. Bit late on this. But just to say this thread is very interesting for me. My great-grandfather was Harry Locke who you seem to have identified in that picture. For some reason the picture is no longer showing, are you able to post it up again. Sounds like our ancestors may have served together then.

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Welcome to the Forum. It is never too late to mention a relevant WW1 person on a relevant thread, no matter how old the thread may be,

 

Harry Locke is certainly relevant.

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On 07/07/2017 at 06:37, ljwatson said:

Hi. Bit late on this. But just to say this thread is very interesting for me. My great-grandfather was Harry Locke who you seem to have identified in that picture. For some reason the picture is no longer showing, are you able to post it up again. Sounds like our ancestors may have served together then.

 

Photo reattached. Your great-grandfather is standing next to my great uncle.

Your great grandfather's Personnel card here:

http://fau.quaker.org.uk/search-view?forename=&surname=Locke

He was in the same section (SSA13) as my great uncle from 23/2/16 and is mentioned in some pages I have photographed from the daily request books that are in the Friends' Library at Euston - usually just how much fuel they used/returned.

As you can see he was awarded the Croix de Guerre 22/6/17 and there is a photo of the ceremony (along with many other FAU photos) here

I have a huge amount of info on the FAU and recently visited Dunkirk, Flanders and Compiegne to see some of the places my great uncle had worked.

I have a Facebook album of it which I will link later (no Facebook at work!)

 

Facebook Photos

  595fa2c2779b2_FAUSSA13.JPG.ac4b6c0b7e6ed000b7cf9bc90d21a74b.JPG

 

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Hi

I have Harry under the following Foreign Office File

 

"File: FO 372/1002 Treaty: France  1917" which states "Locke HW Croix de Guerre  BRCS. Approved"

and thanks to your card I now have the date and photo of him.

 

Cheers

 

Peter

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  • 1 month later...

Thank you so much for responding. I may have bits of information about other members of the unit people here are interested in buried in what my family know about Harry Locke, but I'll have to dig that out. What I remember off the top of my head about Harry is that he survived the war and died in 1980 or 81. He was badly wounded when his ambulance was shelled in May 1917, that's noted in the card above (thanks!). We still have the Croix de Guerre somewhere along with his FAU badge. There is also a diary held by the Society of Friends Library, but I don't think it is too enlightening but there are various other names mentioned. He is also referred to in Geoffrey Winthrop Young's book, and described as being a man of very few words. I think he must have been friends with Laurence Cadbury, who is mentioned in the diary, and the two exchanged letters after the war which are now held by Birmingham University. After the war Harry worked for Joseph Rowntree in York. He was in charge of the education provision and went on regular walks with Rowntree on the coast near Scarborough.

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Documentary on the Cadbury Brothers is being shown again on BBC iPlayer HERE

1914-15 Star Medal Roll for the Friends Ambulance Unit on Ancestry is HERE listing over 350 named individuals and their disembarkation dates. 

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  • 1 year later...

I have just discovered this forum. My Grandfather George Romney Fox (known as Romney) was in SSA 13 from JUl 1917 to the end of the war. We have 60 pages of his letters to his best friend and cousin Theodore Fox when Theodore was at Leighton Park. Theodore went on to serve on the the Ambulance trains when he left school.  

 

I have done a great deal of research on SSA 13 with the intention of one day writing it up. So if anyone wants:-

- details of primary and secondary sources for the FAU and SSA13 to further their search

- Or wants to read the letters of an 18 year old to a 17 year old serving in the unit then I have them transcribed. 

Then get in touch - bottmale@hotmail.com

 

 

Amusingly Romney was described by Olaf Stapleton in "Talking across the World" as ""Our best runner, and a charming lad although he is a bit too pleased with himself!"

 

Romney was a cousin of JP Fox (known as Reynard in the unit). Reynard can be seen in the photo earlier in this thread taken in 1916. 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 23/09/2018 at 09:50, Harry Bott said:

I have just discovered this forum. My Grandfather George Romney Fox (known as Romney) was in SSA 13 from JUl 1917 to the end of the war. We have 60 pages of his letters to his best friend and cousin Theodore Fox when Theodore was at Leighton Park. Theodore went on to serve on the the Ambulance trains when he left school.  

 

I have done a great deal of research on SSA 13 with the intention of one day writing it up. So if anyone wants:-

- details of primary and secondary sources for the FAU and SSA13 to further their search

- Or wants to read the letters of an 18 year old to a 17 year old serving in the unit then I have them transcribed. 

Then get in touch - bottmale@hotmail.com

 

 

Amusingly Romney was described by Olaf Stapleton in "Talking across the World" as ""Our best runner, and a charming lad although he is a bit too pleased with himself!"

 

Romney was a cousin of JP Fox (known as Reynard in the unit). Reynard can be seen in the photo earlier in this thread taken in 1916. 

 

 

HI Harry,

Have dropped you a mail

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...
On 23/09/2018 at 09:50, Harry Bott said:

I have just discovered this forum. My Grandfather George Romney Fox (known as Romney) was in SSA 13 from JUl 1917 to the end of the war. We have 60 pages of his letters to his best friend and cousin Theodore Fox when Theodore was at Leighton Park. Theodore went on to serve on the the Ambulance trains when he left school.  

 

I have done a great deal of research on SSA 13 with the intention of one day writing it up. So if anyone wants:-

- details of primary and secondary sources for the FAU and SSA13 to further their search

- Or wants to read the letters of an 18 year old to a 17 year old serving in the unit then I have them transcribed. 

Then get in touch - bottmale@hotmail.com

 

 

Amusingly Romney was described by Olaf Stapleton in "Talking across the World" as ""Our best runner, and a charming lad although he is a bit too pleased with himself!"

 

Romney was a cousin of JP Fox (known as Reynard in the unit). Reynard can be seen in the photo earlier in this thread taken in 1916. 

 

Hello Harry

 

This is very interesting. Wish I'd spotted it before. I've just sent you an email.

Richard

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  • 6 months later...

I am seeking information concerning S.S.A 2 which was attached to the French 66th Division then serving in the Vosges Mountains.  According to information I found on a French forum, S.S.A.2 served in Alsace from December 5, 1915 until February 26, 1916.  My connection with S.S.A. 2 is that they were scheduled to replace an American volunteer ambulance unit on detached service from the American Ambulance Hospital of Paris at Neuilly-sur-Seine.  Designated "S.S.U. N.3", they were the first American ambulance section to be attached to a French division in the field.  On December 24, 1915, the first of their number, a young man from Ann Arbor, Michigan named Richard Hall was killed by a chance German shell while on his way back up to the postes de secours at Thomannsplatz.  He was buried in the military cemetery in Moosch on December 27.  The commander of S.S.A. 2 acted as one of the pall bearers at his funeral.  I am very keen to discover the identity of this English ambulance officer.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  

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PS The French designation for the American units was "S.S.U." for Section Saintaire Unis.  Early on some of the Americans were given the abbreviation "S.S.A.A." for Section Saintaire Ambulance Americain but it caused too much confusion so the second "A" was dropped in favor of the "U" for Unis.  As in Etats Unis ie. United States.  For those that do not know, even though the American President Woodrow Wilson made great efforts to remain neutral, a large number of Americans volunteered with both the French and the English armies prior to America finally entering the war in April 1917.  The American Field Service saw over 2500 ambulance volunteers from 1915 to 1917, including two sections of ambulances that served attached to the French Army of the Orient in the Balkans.  

0BF92F1D-358A-4D13-AA64-4098721EDC2D_1_105_c.jpeg

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  • 2 months later...

Hello

I have been researching my grandfather Douglas Gray's W.W.1. experience with SSA16 and found your picture via Google Images which led me here.

I was excited to see your picture as I am pretty certain he is pictured center back 6 from left and it looks like it is annotated Douglas - is it Gray?

I am curious to learn more about the image and why he would be pictured with the SSA13? 

I do have his papers and many photos at home and his Croix de Guerre (Montdidier 1918).

Thanks

 

 

On 07/07/2017 at 16:24, Gustywinds said:

 

Photo reattached. Your great-grandfather is standing next to my great uncle.

Your great grandfather's Personnel card here:

http://fau.quaker.org.uk/search-view?forename=&surname=Locke

He was in the same section (SSA13) as my great uncle from 23/2/16 and is mentioned in some pages I have photographed from the daily request books that are in the Friends' Library at Euston - usually just how much fuel they used/returned.

As you can see he was awarded the Croix de Guerre 22/6/17 and there is a photo of the ceremony (along with many other FAU photos) here

I have a huge amount of info on the FAU and recently visited Dunkirk, Flanders and Compiegne to see some of the places my great uncle had worked.

I have a Facebook album of it which I will link later (no Facebook at work!)

 

Facebook Photos

  

FAU SSA13.JPG

 

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