HMHS Letitia Nov 1915 to August 1916

[lynedmonds]

Does anyone have any detailed information about the movements of the HMHS Letitia during the period Nov 1915 - August 1916 please?

 

Thank you

[seaJane]

From her Wikipedia article it looks as if she was in service in the Dardanelles, but whether ferrying casualties from Gallipoli to Mudros/Lemnos or from the Greek islands I couldn't say.

 

There's a little about her in the National Archives catalogue:

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_p=1900&_q="hospital+ship+Letitia"

[lynedmonds]

Thanks for your reply - I have a nurse's record which seems to indicate Alexandria - Balkans, but the evacuation from Gallipoli was largely completed in Jan 1916, so perhaps Mudros/Lemnos.

[seaJane]

There are other nurses' records (and some for male dressers) in the list linked but I appreciate it may come costly to look them all up

[Ralph Currell]

I don't know if it helps, but I have a mention of the Letitia being on the Marseilles-Alexandria run at the beginning of 1917.

 

Regards,

   Ralph

 

 

[ZeZe]

Hi,

H.M.H.S. Letitia movements and a few incidents from gleaned from nurse records and newspapers.

August 1915: Alexandria – Gibraltar – England. Two first hand accounts of the same incident: four hours out of Gibraltar in thick fog Letitia was in collision with an Italian ship which crossed her bows. The Italian ship sank in seven or eight minutes but the crew were saved. Letitia returned to Gibraltar for repairs. [‘Experiences in Plenty’, Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 161, 8 July 1915, Page 7; & ‘Exciting Collision’ Bendigonian, Thu, 26 Aug 1915, Page 2,]

 

There are many newspaper reports of wounded soldiers returning to hospitals in the UK on Letitia from the Gallipoli campaign through the last half of 1915. The last report I found being Pte. Harold Marfleet (7th N.Staffs) who sadly died on board on 12th January 1916. [Leek Times, Sat 29 January 1916]

 

5th March 1916: Letitia may have sailed to Bombay and the Indian Ocean. 

‘Private advice has just been received in Gisborne that Sister Ethel Taylor was expecting to leave Alexandria on March 5th, to do duty on the hospital ship Letitia, sailing for Bombay…..’ [Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13974, 22 April 1916, Page 6]

 

27th November 1916: Fortunately HMHS Letitia was en-route between Malta and Alexandria when the German submarine SM U-32 torpedoed both the Karnak and the City of Birmingham. The survivors of both ships were rescued by Letitia.

The City of Birmingham, a cargo liner was torpedoed and sunk 90 nautical miles (170 km) south east of Malta (35°10′N 15°41′E) with the loss of four lives.

… respondent says the City of Birmingham was torpedoed in the Mediterranean without warning. The largest boat was smashed and many passengers struggled in the water for two hours before they were rescued by a hospital ship which had been summoned by wireless. …

... not worried us, but eventually our doubts were laid at rest, and we had the cheering sight of a large hospital ship, the Letitia, coming full speed for us. The relief that we all felt cannot be expressed in words. People in our plight would be overjoyed …

The same morning the French passenger ship Karnak (Carnak & Karnac) was sunk 70 nautical miles (130 km) south south east of Valletta, Malta with the loss of seventeen lives.

… Karnak, has been officially announced. The news was known here immediately after the mishap. All the passengers were saved and picked up by the hospital ship Letitia. A telegram from Marseilles dated December 2 [1916] now announces that sixteen of the crew are missing. They include the forth engineer, twelve stokers, and three employees in the kitchen. The passengers have arrived at Alexandria. … [Daily Malta Chronicle and Garrison Gazette, 11 Dec 1916]

The most detailed eye witness account I’ve found is by Mrs K. Cornelius which describes the sinking of the City of Birmingham, ‘a deary three and half hours in the life-boat’ with little hope of rescue, then mentions H.M.H.S. Letitia two hours later receiving an S.O.S. and turning back to pick up the survivors of Karnak. [Englishman's Overland Mail, West Bengal, Friday 29 Dec 1916 (Find my Past)]

 

Also mentioned in newspapers, December 1916: Rev. F. T. Willcox ‘in the Mediterranean’ & Pte. Mepham ‘in the Mediterranean’

The digitised Letitia War Diary only covers two months, January and February 1917: Salonika – Malta – Marseilles – Alexandria – Avonmouth. 

By March or April of 1917 H.M.H.S. Letitia was transporting wounded Canadian soldiers from hospitals in the UK back to Canada. She also transported Canadian medical staff on the return trip to England: https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/community/5158/

H.M.H.S. Letitia ran aground on the morning of August 1st, 1917 outside the harbour at Halifax, N.S. She was carrying 546 wounded Canadian soldiers, all were rescued. The crew remained with the ship till the next day, when stoker who was accidentally left behind tried to swim to shore and was drowned.

A rather incomplete timeline (additions/corrections welcome) for the Medical Staff onboard H.M.H.S.Letitia with approx locations:

Regards ZeZe

 

[alf mcm]

ZeZe,

Very interesting.

  I can add Staff Nurse Gertrude STUTTARD Q.A.I.M.N.S.R. from June 1915. MIC & WO399/8081.

 

Alexina DUSAULT

https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=373069

Attached to ‘Letitia’ from 10/05/17 until 22/05/17.

 

Minnie A. FOLLETTE

https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=401045

Attached to ‘Letitia’ from 21/07/17 until 02/08/17.

 

Margaret Marjory FRASER

https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=399544

Attached to ‘Letitia’ from 10/05/17 until 22/05/17.

Regards,

Alf McM

 

 

[alf mcm]

ZeZe,

  Also, Louisa STOBO, AANS, served on Letitia from 02/11/15 until 26/07/16. She was married to Edye H. STOBO.

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=8092348&isAv=N

Regards,

Alf McM

[ZeZe]

Hi,

I thought the Master of the City of Birmingham was a very brave man remaining with the ship as it went down. One report states that he had made the excuse of going to release the dogs on board. Somehow, he avoided being sucked under and as Mrs Cornelius relates ‘We drifted along in our boats…… Some minutes after we saw the captain swimming away from the wreckage and amidst great cheering all boats darted forward towards him and he was picked up.’

I have tried to identify the Master. I think his first names are William John, born in Birmingham and lived at 39 Woodlands Road, Liverpool (info from 1915 Crew Lists – he is misnamed as M Saughton) The newspaper: Liverpool Journal of Commerce, pub. Saturday 31 March 1917 has an interesting article regarding the award of the gold medal by the Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society to him, and of the other sailing and steam ships he had served on. There is also a photo of Captain W. J. Haughton.

 

Alf - Thanks for the info on the nurses – the Canadian site didn’t want to play ball last week so couldn’t download files to find that out of the three C.A.M.C.nurses only Minnie A. Follette was on board when Letitia hit the rocks. Who were the other Canadian nurses on board?

Notes in Minnie’s record bring up the subject of mental health, an issue that I’ve come across in quite a few nurse’s files and thought about, ...this Nursing Sister is suffering from the strain of constant duty… & on 08.04.16 Nervous exhaustion. Unfit for any service – 2 months (sick leave). I’m not a medical person but I guess it was wartime post traumatic stress disorder. Minnie’s treatment contrasts with that of Mary Doyle’s. On the timeline I’ve recorded Mary as ‘invalided out of the service’ but there’s a little more to relate.

Q.A.I.M.N.S.R. Staff Nurse Mary Doyle joined for duty at Pembroke Dock on 27 January 1915 and was later posted to H.M.H.S. Letitia where she served during the Gallipoli campaign from September to December until disembarking in England. When in London, whilst still on duty, Mary complained of feeling poorly with her nerves. A Medical Board granted her three months sick leave, to be paid from 29 January 1916 to 29 April 1916. This coincided with Mary’s one year contract being due for renewal. It was then decided by the Head Office to terminate the contract and not to grant the paid sick leave.

Mary Doyle tried to overturn the decisions, the file has various letters of appeal, to the Lord Lieutenant, Dublin Castle, another to the Rt. Hon. H. J. Tennant, MP, Under Secretary of State for War asking if the decision could be overturned ...‘her medical attendant tells me she is quite fit for light work’ and ... ‘This is a case I would appeal for reconsideration … having regard to the fact that she volunteered to go on a hospital ship and was actually under fire.’

Mary’s appeal failed, however the sick pay to 29 April 1916 was eventually reinstated and her claim for a Silver War Badge approved. [WO 399/2341]

Regards ZeZe

Another Letitia nurse: Q.A.I.M.N.S.R Maud Eliza HINTON WO399/3853 (& MIC) from 18.09.15. to ?

Edited 23 April , 2023 by ZeZe

[ScottB]

Ze Ze,

I have Mary Doyle’s medals and in WO 399/2341 the letter from her Parish Priest to the Lord Lieutenant also describes she was suffering from her nerves as she disembarked from the Hospital Ship and then in London only to be asleep in the evening at the house she was staying at  and woken up suddenly and told to rush downstairs into the basement as there as a Zeppelin raid and  bombs were dropping around the house. He also states that she is now tortured by horrible dreams about Zeppelin raids every night. Poor woman was not having a good time of it. 
 

Scott

Quote

Q.A.I.M.N.S.R. Staff Nurse Mary Doyle joined for duty at Pembroke Dock on 27 January 1915 and was later posted to H.M.H.S. Letitia where she served during the Gallipoli campaign from September to December until disembarking in England. When in London, whilst still on duty, Mary complained of feeling poorly with her nerves. A Medical Board granted her three months sick leave, to be paid from 29 January 1916 to 29 April 1916. This coincided with Mary’s one year contract being due for renewal. It was then decided by the Head Office to terminate the contract and not to grant the paid sick leave.