Where was he wounded?

[gayenz]

Hello

If someone could please look at the following Casualty Form and help me follow the dots. The area I am confused about is the timeframe between the 23rd Jan - 17th Feb 1917. 

 

*23 Jan 1917 – from 4^th LH Details – Proceed o/seas B E F (???) per SS Princess Clementine, to arrive 24 Jan 1917

 

*27 Jan 1917 - A.G.B.D (Australian General Base Depot) - marched into Etables – arrived 25^th Jan 1917

 

*17 Feb 1917 - A.G.B.D (Australian General Base Depot)- Transferred out of Etables back to England due to being Injured – right foot - 13 Feb 1917

 

Does this mean that when Lionel Malcolm finally got to the Western Front, he was injured whilst still in camp at Etables OR that he actually joined his old LH unit who had been amalgamated into the 2nd ANZAC Corps who were around River Lys area and got injured whilst possibly on patrol? 

 

It states that place of injury was Etaples on 13 Feb but also states England 24 Jan. 

 

Any help would be great appreciated. Thank you 

[Waddell]

B.E.F is British Expeditionary Force.

 

Reading that I would say that he was injured whilst he was at the base depot at Etaples. Had he been taken on strength by his old unit I would expect to see that noted on the form.

 

Scott 

[gayenz]

Thanks Scott.

 

So it could read that basically he crossed the channel on the 24th, arrived on the 25th and received a foot injury on day 1!

That would be tough seeing as he had just been able to re-enlist after being shipped home in 1915 for appendicitis. He never even got out of the Mena Camp in Egypt.  

 

He was re-enlisted as part of the 4th LH. So what do you mean by "Had he been taken on strength by his old unit...."? 

 

Do you by any chance understand what the remarks column annotations translate as? 

[Waddell]

Taken on strength is a military term that refers to the day when he was actually taken on by his unit. He remained part of the 22nd Reinforcements until he was taken on strength by the unit in France (which appears not to have happened). When taken on strength he would have been counted as part of the units establishment, not a reinforcement.

 

The terms Marched In and Marched Out are also used in AIF records.

 

See here-

https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/Pages/read-service-record-casualty-form.aspx

 

It probably was tough for him but he was also getting old for a soldier. I researched a similar case where an AIF soldier spent two days with his battalion in France before damaging his knee which lead to him serving the rest of his service in England with the military police at AIF HQ in London.

 

I'm not strong on this part but the remarks column refers to army forms and documents where the details were taken from. B.213 is another form and some of the details of his movements come from embarkation rolls.

Edited 13 August , 2019 by Waddell
Added more.

[kenf48]

1 hour ago, gayenz said:

So it could read that basically he crossed the channel on the 24th, arrived on the 25th and received a foot injury on day 1!

That would be tough seeing as he had just been able to re-enlist after being shipped home in 1915 for appendicitis.

 

Not sure he was injured on Day , that's not reflected in the form posted above.  He arrived at Etaples, as you say on the 25th January and left on the 13th February. In 1917 conditions at Etaples were so atrocious that later in the year it resulted in one of, if not the greatest almost certainly one of the most notorious mutinies of the war. 

https://libcom.org/history/articles/etaples-mutiny-1917

Men were supposedly 'toughened up' for trench warfare by the universally hated NCOs, known as 'canaries'.   Having visited Etaples, although there is nothing left of the camp, it is easy to see how route marches and running up the hills around, which have been described by some soldiers could cause injury.  In addition men were drilled relentlessly and engaged in bayonet practice and mock assaults.  The regime would have been especially hard for older men.

 

Ken

[gayenz]

Thank you for your responses, they have been very helpful. 

Regards

Gaye