PJS Posted 13 June , 2018 Author Share Posted 13 June , 2018 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEW Posted 13 June , 2018 Share Posted 13 June , 2018 Peter, Info on Leppard came from Find my past.Can't provide link at present but I can add his B.103 sheets; TEW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJS Posted 13 June , 2018 Author Share Posted 13 June , 2018 Excellent. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJS Posted 14 June , 2018 Author Share Posted 14 June , 2018 (edited) 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 15 June , 2018 by PJS Added entries from WO 95/5238/3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie962 Posted 14 June , 2018 Share Posted 14 June , 2018 good work PJS. To whom did the Hospital ship report ? Is there a Diary for next level up ? Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJS Posted 14 June , 2018 Author Share Posted 14 June , 2018 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie962 Posted 14 June , 2018 Share Posted 14 June , 2018 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 But could be way off ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJS Posted 14 June , 2018 Author Share Posted 14 June , 2018 Looks like I may have to break into the piggy bank... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJS Posted 15 June , 2018 Author Share Posted 15 June , 2018 (edited) 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 19 August , 2018 by PJS Formatting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie962 Posted 15 June , 2018 Share Posted 15 June , 2018 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJS Posted 15 June , 2018 Author Share Posted 15 June , 2018 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie962 Posted 15 June , 2018 Share Posted 15 June , 2018 Goodness knows what it may or may not show ! Every so often one strikes a good seam. Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJS Posted 16 June , 2018 Author Share Posted 16 June , 2018 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWF1967 Posted 22 June , 2018 Share Posted 22 June , 2018 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 I found this thread whilst researching 46937 Edward "Ernie" Leppard R.A.M.C, here he is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJS Posted 23 June , 2018 Author Share Posted 23 June , 2018 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWF1967 Posted 23 June , 2018 Share Posted 23 June , 2018 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. 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJS Posted 24 June , 2018 Author Share Posted 24 June , 2018 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? You think this is perhaps Leonard & Ernie sitting together? Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWF1967 Posted 24 June , 2018 Share Posted 24 June , 2018 (edited) 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: 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 24 June , 2018 by GWF1967 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJS Posted 25 June , 2018 Author Share Posted 25 June , 2018 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWF1967 Posted 27 June , 2018 Share Posted 27 June , 2018 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJS Posted 28 June , 2018 Author Share Posted 28 June , 2018 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWF1967 Posted 28 June , 2018 Share Posted 28 June , 2018 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWF1967 Posted 28 June , 2018 Share Posted 28 June , 2018 (edited) "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. Edited 28 June , 2018 by GWF1967 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJS Posted 29 June , 2018 Author Share Posted 29 June , 2018 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJS Posted 14 July , 2018 Author Share Posted 14 July , 2018 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. 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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