Le Cateau War Hospital

[Marigold1]

I have a soldier Matthew Cockerill, Pte 41430, 7th Leicestershire Regiment, who died in Le Cateau War Hospital on 21st September 1918.

I thought that this was still a German Military Hospital in September 1918?

Does this mean he was a POW before admission to the hospital on 16th September 1918?

His service record seems to offer no clues about this. Can anyone help on this one?

Marigold

 

[AOK4]

Hello,

 

Indeed: Kriegslazarett Le Cateau.

See: https://grandeguerre.icrc.org/en/File/Details/3632441/3/2/

 

Jan

[AOK4]

Also here: https://grandeguerre.icrc.org/en/File/Details/4518468/3/2/

 

[Marigold1]

Dear Jan,

Thank you very much indeed for you help. I greatly appreciate it.

Marigold

[AOK4]

Hello,

 

There are two possibilities: either the date of death is wrong and he was taken POW and died rather soon after that, but the date was then taken from a document stating the POW had died (it often took a long time before such information arrived in the UK) or he was working in a POW labour unit near the front line and died in September.

 

Unfortunately, the Red Cross doesn't have any information about the man apart from his being captured on 21/22 March 1918.

 

Jan

[mva]

bonjour,

Though not being a specialist, I assume that wounded soldiers (whatever nationality) were taken to milit. hospitals (whatever nationality). Thus e.g. a wounded Brit. soldier would be POW but taken to a German Lazarett. . See these photos from the IWM here : https://somme18.com/2017/01/19/aout-18-le-quesnel/

kind regards from the Somme

[AOK4]

mva,

 

Wounded POWs were preferably sent to hospitals which had the necessary infrastructure to be able to deal with wounded POWs. This included not only rooms that could be guarded properly but also personel that could speak the necessary languages. They also wanted to avoid having POWs all over and having to use their limited manpower a bit everywhere to guard the POWs. If the wounded POWs couldn't be transported, they were treated in a "normal" medical post and transported to a "specialised" medical post as soon as possible.

Le Cateau though definitely had a Kriegslazarett where allied POWs could be treated.

 

Jan

Edited 13 August , 2018 by AOK4

[Marigold1]

Dear Jan and MVA,

I am most interested in what you both had to say. Thank you very much.

Marigold

[Lee S]

Nothing more to add to this other than we'll be in Le Cateau military cemetery a week today to pay our respects to my great, great Uncle who died a POW in the same hospital (I can only presume) a few weeks before on 22/8/18. I see from the records he's only a handful of plots away so will stop to remember him also. 

Probably a huge long shot but is the location of the hospital roughly known?