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Remembered Today:

Pvt Leonard John Monks, RAMC War History


PJS

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5 hours ago, TEW said:

Cracking transcription for the Vita.

 

Leppard was the other man whose record shows service on the Vita. 12/8/1916 Mustapha, Posted base depot ex 'HS Neuralia' ex 'HS Vita".

TEW 

 

 

Hi TEW,

 

Could you post the link to Leppard's Service Record?  I cannot find it on Ancestry.

 

I just found another man from the list above who also served on the Neuralia before transferring to HMHS Vita and his summary record is below (my additions in [ ] brackets):

57731 George E Cole
30-10-1915    24 CSS, Egypt [El Ferdan?]
29-01-1916    General Base Depot, Sidi Bishr [Alexandria]
09-03-1916    1/2 East Anglia Field Ambulance, Mena [Cairo]
08-07-1916    Base Depot, Mustapha [Alexandria]
12-07-1916    Hospital Ship Neuralia. Bombay - Basra.
28-07-1916    Joined [HM]HS Vita
28-04-1918    Awarded 5 days leave. Returned 3hrs late. [Dar-es-Salaam]
28-09-1918    Joined 42 Co Bombay
10-03-1919    Embarked [Hospital Ship] [HM]AT ELLORA for UK
                      Struck off strength of 42 Co Bombay
                      [Took 34 days to get home]


And separately, I noticed that 43480 Pvt Frank HOLFORD who served on HMHS Vita deployed Egypt 30-5-1915 (same as my Grandfather) but sadly I saw no Service or Pension record for him.

 

Peter

 

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Peter,

 

Info on Leppard came from Find my past.Can't provide link at present but I can add his B.103 sheets;

 

TEW

 

Leppard1.jpg.e3c8829fb017c7d12f4f0d955b46d068.jpg

 

leppard2.jpg.d6d6423997d2b6d7a916b1ba71d414ec.jpg

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Vita, was owned by British India Steam Navigation Co Ltd, and was completed in October 1914 by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd, Wallsend. She was 4,691 gross tons, 1,955 net tons, and 5,160 deadweight tons. Dimensions were 390.1 feet length, 53.3 feet breadth and 24 ft depth. She had twin props and two triple expansion engines giving 4,700 ihp and 12.5 knots. Her passenger capacity when new was 32 first class, 24 second class, and 2,694 deck. Immediately upon completion she was put into military service as a troopship (SS Vita), and her first voyage was from Bombay to the Persian Gulf with troops, and her next voyage was to France. She carried on trooping duties until 1916 when converted into a hospital ship (HM HS Vita) with 475 patient berths.

 

I have the War Diaries for the HM HS Vita but only from June 1917 onward.  Below is the best I can do to trace the Vita’s movements from commissioning to when the War Diary starts:

 

SS VITA – Troop Transport:

14 April, 1915     Bushire. 8.35am: Stopped by SS VITA, drew stores

3 Aug, 1915        Basrah. 5.15am: SS VITA down river

21 Dec, 1915      Marseilles. Troops Boarded the SS Vita at Marseilles

21 Jan, 1916       Basrah. Troops Disembarked SS Vita at Basrah

29 Jan, 1916       Basra. Arrangements were made to dispatch a medical officer with practical knowledge of plague and an assistant surgeon skilled in Bacteriology

                            in HT VITA proceeding to Bar to take troops off NILE.
2 Mar, 1916*        Basrah. 10.10am: VITA down river

3 Mar, 1916         Basra. F Sinclair MO with assistant surgeon Brown left in HT VITA for Transport ?? at Kuwait to ?? plague outbreak on that ship.

4 Mar, 1916         Troops on NILE being transhipped to HT VITA for Basra.
7 Mar, 1916         It was decided to Quarantine and disinfect troops on the VITA and NILE. A batch of 500.
 

* It is not clear from the HMS Odin’s log whether or not the Vita was a Troop Ship or a Hospital Ship on 2 Mar, 1916.

   Divisional Troops: 56 Brigade Royal Field Artillery (WO 95/5151/4) shows HMT VITA at Shatt-el-Arab on 4 Mar, 1916.

 

HMHS VITA – Hospital Ship:

21, May, 1916     Basra. The VITA arrived on her first trip [as a Hospital Ship].
23 May, 1916      Basra. Dispatched the VITA with 17 Officers and 341 other ranks and the "Chackdara" with 12 B officers and 260 other ranks.

29 May, 1916      Bombay. 6.30am: Hospital ship VITA arrived                                     

6 June, 1916      Bombay. 1.00pm: Hospital ship VITA proceeded 

11 June, 1916     Basra. [No 33 BGH personnel arrived on VITA. 33 Officers & 187 men].                    

20 July, 1916      Mohammerah. 10.20am: 69 ratings discharged sick to SS VITA    

4 Aug, 1916        Basrah. HMHS Vita left @ 8:15am                                                            

7 Aug, 1916        Abadan.  9.50am: Two invalids discharged to HMHS Vita               

19 Aug, 1916      At Sea. 9.10pm: HMHS VITA passed, west 

28 Sep, 1916      Basra. Told that VITA, from Bombay, was bringing repatriated PoWs.              

18 Oct, 1916       Basrah. 6:20am: VITA passed down                                                        

12 Nov, 1916      Basrah. 1:15pm: Hospital Ship VITA passed down                             

9 Dec, 1916        Zanzibar. 1.00pm: HMHS Vita arrived.                                                    

11 Dec, 1916      Dar-es-Salaam. 4:30pm: HMHS Vita arrived.                                        

17 Dec, 1916      Zanzibar. 6.00am: H.S. Vita sailed.                                                           

15 Feb, 1917      Basrah. Men discharged to HS Vita                                                                    

13 Mar, 1917      At Sea. 8.40am: Closed HS Vita                                                                  

12 Apr, 1917      At Sea. 7.40pm: HS Vita passed, Bombay to Basra.

 

Source: http://www.firstworldwar.com/diaries/edwinjones.htm

Source: https://www.naval-history.net

Source: WO 95/5238/3. Headquarters Branches and Services: Assistant Director Medical Services

 

 

Edited by PJS
Added entries from WO 95/5238/3
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14 minutes ago, charlie962 said:

good work PJS. To whom did the Hospital ship report ? Is there a Diary for next level up ?

Charlie 

 

That's a really good question. Lots of annotations in the Remarks column relating to "ADMS (Dist) Bombay". Also a few for "DMS India" and a couple "DDMS L of C".

 

My grandfather was temporarily transferred to Deolali under orders of AQMG Bombay Brigade.

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I presume reports went up the RAMC chain so next up might be a Lines of Communications ADMS; looking at Discovery National Archives there are various possibilities for Mespot/Gulf and sampling these at 3.50 a time could get expensive!

Charlie

 

For example

         1030555366_WO95AssistDirMedServpossibles.JPG.4b911ba51edbec3b236c6e4c9484b888.JPG

 

But could be way off ?

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Piggy Bank raided. Following new details found:

 

WO 95/5238/3
Headquarters Branches and Services: Assistant Director Medical Services

All entries reported from "Busra" which I assume to be Basra (aka Basrah).


29 Feb,1916      Arrangements were made to dispatch a medical officer with practical knowledge of plague and an assistant surgeon skilled in Bacteriology in

                          HT VITA proceeding to Bar to take troops off NILE.

2 Mar, 1916       Specialist MO with assistant surgeon Brown left in HT VITA for Transport NILE at Kuwait to itigate plague outbreak on that ship.
                          Arranged with I.G.C. that HT VITA had best be detained on arrival of Troops from HT NILE.

4 Mar, 1916       Troops on NILE being transhipped to HT VITA for Basra.
7 Mar, 1916       It was decided to Quarantine and disinfect troops on the VITA and NILE. A batch of 500.

21 May, 1916    The VITA arrived in her first trip.
23 May, 1916     Dispatched the VITA with 17 Officers and 341 other ranks and the "Chackdara" with 12 B officers and 260 other ranks.

11 Jun, 1916      No 33 BGH personnel arrived on VITA (33 Officers & 187 men).

28 Sep, 1916    Told that VITA, from Bombay, was bringing repatriated PoWs
 

Appears that VITA was converted from a Troop Ship to a Hospital Ship in April/May 1916. Most likely converted in Bombay.

 

Edited by PJS
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It was worth raiding the piggybank, I think. But double posting surely is going a bit too far to try to extract extra money's worth?

 

Glad it was the right Diary and interesting to know the reporting line.

 

Charlie

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Well, it doesn't grow on trees, (double posting cleaned up). 

 

I'm thinking about springing for this one too:

 

WO 95/5241/2
Headquarters Branches and Services: Embarkation Commandant

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I am $4.81 poorer but discovered the following riches:

 

WO 95/5241/3
Headquarters Branches and Services: Embarkation Commandant
 

1 July, 1916        Busrah. Hospital Ship VITA.
3 July, 1916        Busrah. Hospital Ship VITA departed to India. 16 BOs, BOR 205, IO 14, IOR 157.
16 July, 1916      BASRA. Hospital SHip VITA arrived 6:15pm.
17 Jul, 1916       BASRA. Sick & Wounded for transfer to HS DONGOLA. BO 25; BOR 500.
18 Jul, 1916       BASRA. VITA departed to Bar.
19 Jul, 1916       BASRA. VITA arrived from Bar.
20 Jul, 1916       BASRA. Hospital Ship VITA departed 12:20pm. Sick & Wounded to India.
2 Aug, 1916       BASRA. Hospital Ship VITA arrived.
4 Aug, 1916       BASRA. VITA departed 8:30am. Sick & Wounded to HT MADRAS. BO 21, BOR 216, IOR 248.
5 Aug, 1916       BASRA. Hospital Ship VITA arrived 5:15pm.
7 Aug, 1916        BASRA. Hospital Ship VITA departed 7:00am. Sick & Wounded to India. BO 5, BOR 389.
21 Aug, 1916      BASRA. Hospital Ship VITA arrived 12:15pm.
22 Aug, 1916      BASRA. VITA departed. Sick to Bar 7:15am.
23 Aug, 1916      BASRA. VITA transfer sick to HS DEVANA. BO 17; BOR 378.
24 Aug, 1916      BASRA. VITA departed. Sick & Wounded to Bar. 7:30am.
25 Aug, 1916      BASRA. VITA Sick & Wounded for Transfer to HS MADRAS. IOR 499.
26 Aug, 1916      BASRA. Hospital Ship VITA arrived from Bar. 2:15pm.
28 Aug, 1916      BASRA. Hospital Ship VITA sick to Bar. 6:00am. Sick for transfer to HS DONGOLA. BO 21; BOR 407.
29 Aug, 1916      BASRA. Hospital Ship VITA arrived 6:00pm
30 Aug, 1916      BASRA. VITA departed to India. 6:00am. IO 3; IOR 374.
12 Sep, 1916      BASRA. Hospital Ship VITA arrived 1:00pm.
13 Sep, 1916      BUSRA. Hospital Ship VITA departed 6:00am. Sick to India BO 10; IO 4; IOR 224. Follrs 150.
27 Sep, 1916      BUSRA. Hospital Ship VITA arrived 5:30pm.
30 Sep, 1916      BUSRA. Hospital Ship VITA departed 6:00am. British sick to Bar, Indian sick to Bombay.

 

 

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On 13/06/2018 at 15:44, TEW said:

Peter,

 

Info on Leppard came from Find my past.Can't provide link at present but I can add his B.103 sheets;

 

TEW

 

Leppard1.jpg.e3c8829fb017c7d12f4f0d955b46d068.jpg

 

leppard2.jpg.d6d6423997d2b6d7a916b1ba71d414ec.jpg

I found this thread whilst researching 46937 Edward "Ernie" Leppard R.A.M.C, here he is.

Scan_20180608 (3).jpg

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18 hours ago, GWF1967 said:

I found this thread whilst researching 46937 Edward "Ernie" Leppard R.A.M.C, here he is.

 

Nice addition. Thank You.

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On 07/06/2018 at 16:39, PJS said:

I received the following picture of Leonard Monks yesterday, which is the first one I have seen of him in uniform. I have no date but I'm guessing that it was prior to shipping out to Egypt so he would be 16 or 17 years old. He certainly looks young.

 

Leonard-John-Monks.jpg.f94d586e04a7790599c3251489e04417.jpg

 

I would be curious to know if anyone can identify his role based upon the blanket and satchel he is carrying.

 

Peter

Hi, 

 Here is a second card from "Ernie" Leppard, prior to going overseas. I think Leonard Monks may be the man seated bottom left.

 Is the blanket in your photo actually a greatcoat?

 

Scan_20180608 (5).jpg

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13 hours ago, GWF1967 said:

Hi, 

 Here is a second card from "Ernie" Leppard, prior to going overseas. I think Leonard Monks may be the man seated bottom left.

 Is the blanket in your photo actually a greatcoat?

 

What do you know about the postcard?  Do you have a date or a location? 

 

220781155_Len--Ernie-Perhaps.PNG.fd517cead504bfdd5b5ee9c37b1b4c61.PNG

 

You think this is perhaps Leonard & Ernie sitting together?

 

Peter

 

 

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10 hours ago, PJS said:

 

What do you know about the postcard?  Do you have a date or a location? 

 

 

 

10 hours ago, PJS said:

 

 

220781155_Len--Ernie-Perhaps.PNG.fd517cead504bfdd5b5ee9c37b1b4c61.PNG

 

You think this is perhaps Leonard & Ernie sitting together?

 

Peter

 

 

 

 

Hi,

 there is no information on the rear of the group postcard unfortunately,  it came with the carte-postale  of Ernie Leppard, which  has 9 coy, 4th sec, R.A.M.C.on the back. 

The position of Ernie in the group is not recorded but the chap you have picked out is the same as my first choice! I did a double take when I saw your photo of Leonard.

 

 

Edited by GWF1967
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14 hours ago, GWF1967 said:

Hi,

 there is no information on the rear of the group postcard unfortunately,  it came with the carte-postale  of Ernie Leppard, which  has 9 coy, 4th sec, R.A.M.C.on the back. 

The position of Ernie in the group is not recorded but the chap you have picked out is the same as my first choice! I did a double take when I saw your photo of Leonard.

 

Very intriguing. I wonder if we can try to place the location of the photo. What do you know of pre-war Ernie Leppard? I don't have access to his Service Record just his MIC and Roll on Ancestry. I can see that he attested on 29 Oct, 1914 but how old was he and where did he join?

 

Leonard Monks was from Warrington.

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On 25/06/2018 at 13:43, PJS said:

 

Very intriguing. I wonder if we can try to place the location of the photo. What do you know of pre-war Ernie Leppard? I don't have access to his Service Record just his MIC and Roll on Ancestry. I can see that he attested on 29 Oct, 1914 but how old was he and where did he join?

 

Leonard Monks was from Warrington.

Hi,

 apologies for the slow-mo response;

Ernie Leppard was born. Middlesex,, Enlisted, Bournemouth, outfitters assistant, aged 22yrs 7mths,   Posted to Aldershot. 230th F.A. R.A.M.C.

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11 hours ago, GWF1967 said:

Hi,

 apologies for the slow-mo response;

Ernie Leppard was born. Middlesex,, Enlisted, Bournemouth, outfitters assistant, aged 22yrs 7mths,   Posted to Aldershot. 230th F.A. R.A.M.C.

 

Thanks. Found him on the 1911 and 1901 Census.  So, we think the photo was taken at Aldershot, probably early 1915?  (They left for Egypt in May/June and in the photo a couple of women are in furs and several of the men are wearing great coats, so cold).

 

Peter

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10 hours ago, PJS said:

 

Thanks. Found him on the 1911 and 1901 Census.  So, we think the photo was taken at Aldershot, probably early 1915?  (They left for Egypt in May/June and in the photo a couple of women are in furs and several of the men are wearing great coats, so cold).

 

Peter

May sounds about right. The lighting of the shot looks spring like.  Hardy types in a jacket, those who feel the cold in overcoat with optional fur.

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"For Hilda" is the only thing written on the back of this card, I think he features in the middle row of the group photo. 

 

Scan_20180627 (5).jpg

 

Scan_20180608 (7).jpg

Edited by GWF1967
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13 hours ago, GWF1967 said:

I think he features in the middle row of the group photo.

 

Yes, I would agree; that seems to be him.  Hope the bloke standing next to him is not "Hilda".

 

Peter

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 28/06/2018 at 17:28, GWF1967 said:

"For Hilda" is the only thing written on the back of this card, I think he features in the middle row of the group photo. 

 

Scan_20180627 (5).jpg

 

Scan_20180608 (7).jpg

 

I have some incremental information regarding Ernie Leppard's service in his 1st year in Egypt. I noticed that the B.103 for 44329 Pvt JE Cordaroy exactly matches that of Ernie Leppard - at least up to 10 Aug, 1916. Based on that, I would say that Ernie Leppard:

  • Arrived Egypt 13 June, 1915 Assigned to 17 General Hospital
  • Embarked the HS Guildford Castle on 28 Aug, 1915 at Alexandria
  • Disembarked HS Guildford Castle and Embarked the HS Vita in May 1916. Most likely at Basra or Bombay.
  • Disembarked HS Vita and Embarked the HS Neuralia in July 1916. Most likely at Basra or Bombay.
  • Disembarked HS Neuralia and assigned to Base Depot @ Mustapha 10 Aug, 1916.


The logs for the Neuralia and Vita do not start until 1917 but the Guildford Castle logs cover November 1914 to January 1919 (although there is a large gap between Dec 1916 and Aug 1917). A summary of the logs for the time Leppard and Cordaroy were onboard is below:

 

HS Guildford Castle
23-08-15    Arrived Alexandria
29-08-15    Left Alexandria
31-08-15    Arrived Mudros
01-09-15    Left for Imbros
02-09-15    Arrived Imbros. Took on board 670 cases.
05-09-15    Mudros. Handed over 670 cases to SS Scotian, Sumila(?) & Hospitals on shore
06-09-15    Suvla. Commenced to take in cases.
08-09-15    Left for Mudros arriving at 6pm with 557 cases onboard
09-09-15    Left for Malta
11-09-15    Arrived Malta. Disembarked all cases.
17-09-15    Arrived Mudros.
21-09-15    ANZAC Beach. Left with 600 cases onboard.
22-09-15    Mudros. Left to Alexandria with 520 cases onboard 120 being on decks
25-09-15    Alexandria. Arrived in dock. Disembarked all cases.
29-09-15    Embarked 384 sick & wounded. Left for Southampton.
06-10-15    Gibralter. Arrived - only waiting long enough to hand over embarkation stats.
11-10-15    Southampton. Arrived in dock disembarked all sick & wounded.
12-10-15    London. Arrived in East India dock. Repairs & Alterations.
25-10-15    London. Left East India dock anchored for the night off the NORE.
27-10-15    Boulogne. Arrived in dock. Took on board 75 Indian troops destined for India & 300 for Marseilles. Left for Marseilles.
02-11-15    Marseilles. Arrived in dock. Disembarked 300 Indian cases for General Hospital. Took onboard 130 Indians for Alexandria.
10-11-15    Alexandria. Arrived in dock. Disembarked all 205 cases.
16-11-15    Mudros. Arrived in harbour.
20-11-15    Mudros. Left for Suvla.
23-11-15    Suvla. Left for Mudros with 410 sick & wounded onboard.
24-11-15    Mudros. Left for Malta.
27-11-15    Malta. Arrived in harbour. Disembarked 224 cases likely to be well in six weeks & took on 210 cases for England.
28-11-15    Malta. Left for Southampton.

 

Next entry in the Guildford Castle's log is August 1916 after they disembarked.

 

I suppose it's also remotely possible that the man in the photo is Cordaroy. At least he is a contender.

 

Peter
 

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