2nd SGH RAMCT The Bhoys

[Marilyn Jones]

Please explain who these soldiers are.  I'm not at all familiar with the abbreviations used.  I'm very new to this but keen to learn. 

Thank you.

[high wood]

No 2 Stationary General Hospital? Royal Army Medical Corps. (Territorial Force). Some of the soldiers in the photographs may be recovering patients. At least one appears to be a Royal Scots Fusilier. I am not sure why they have a Boy Scout with them though.

[Grovetown]

SGH will be 'Something General Hospital'.

Unfortunately, not a unique abbreviation and could be Southern or alternatively, given the presence of comedy kilt and glengarries, Scottish.

RAMC T is Royal Army Medical Corps Territorial.

Cheers,

GT.

[charlie962]

11 minutes ago, Grovetown said:

SGH will be 'Something General Hospital'.

Southern General Hospital

2 SGH was in Bristol - Edit- longLongTrail adds this: 2nd Southern General. A TF General Hospital in Bristol. 200 officers and 1350 other ranks.

Charlie

Edited 28 September , 2021 by charlie962

[clk]

Hi Marilyn,

30 minutes ago, charlie962 said:

Southern General Hospital

I guess that men from the Royal Army Medical Corps Territorial (Force) at the 2nd Scottish General Territorial Force Hospital might also be a possibility. According to the LLT (link) they were based at Craigleith, Edinburgh with a capacity for 28 officers and 1129 other ranks. Are there any other marks on the card/photo - showing photographer. studio, etc? Do you know anything about it's provenance? I also wondered if the use of the word 'Bhoys' might point towards men from the Glasgow area possibly from Irish descent?- link.

Regards
Chris

[charlie962]

4 minutes ago, clk said:

2nd Scottish General Territorial Force Hospital might also be a possibility.

Yes, I think your's is a better proposition. The Scottish Bhoys and the presence of one kilt  add to this.

Charlie

[Marilyn Jones]

2 minutes ago, clk said:

Hi Marilyn,

I guess that men from the Royal Army Medical Corps Territorial (Force) at the 2nd Scottish General Territorial Force Hospital might also be a possibility. According to the LLT (link) they were based at Craigleith, Edinburgh with a capacity for 28 officers and 1129 other ranks. Are there any other marks on the card/photo - showing photographer. studio, etc? Do you know anything about it's provenance? I also wondered if the use of the word 'Bhoys' might point towards men from the Glasgow area possibly from Irish descent?- link.

Regards
Chris

Hi Chris, 

There's no clue on the reverse, not even a publisher.  Card from a dealers job lot so no provenance either I'm afraid.

[CorporalPunishment]

1 hour ago, charlie962 said:

Yes, I think your's is a better proposition. The Scottish Bhoys and the presence of one kilt  add to this.

Charlie

 

1 hour ago, charlie962 said:

Yes, I think your's is a better proposition. The Scottish Bhoys and the presence of one kilt  add to this.

Charlie

Kilt?. Looks like a table cloth to me Charlie. 

[Marilyn Jones]

5 minutes ago, CorporalPunishment said:

 

Kilt?. Looks like a table cloth to me Charlie. 

I think so too; or a tea towel. 

[FROGSMILE]

The vast majority in the photo wear RAMC insignia and so are hospital staff.  I agree with clk that it seems more likely to be No2 Scottish General Hospital given that the only two non RAMC are from a Scottish infantry regiment.  Some volunteer Boy Scouts were permitted (with the permission of their parents) to be employed on war service in various military institutions as bicycle orderlies and messengers to run tasks in person.

[CorporalPunishment]

6 minutes ago, FROGSMILE said:

The vast majority in the photo wear RAMC insignia and so are hospital staff.  I agree with clk that it seems more likely to be No2 Scottish General Hospital given that the only two non RAMC are from a Scottish infantry regiment.  Some volunteer Boy Scouts were permitted (with the permission of their parents) to be employed on war service in various military institutions as bicycle orderlies and messengers to run tasks in person.

The man on the far right is ASC.   Pete.

[FROGSMILE]

3 minutes ago, CorporalPunishment said:

The man on the far right is ASC.   Pete.

One who’s not in the vast majority Pete.  Presumably a driver on the hospital staff.  He’s carrying what looks like a surgeons Gladstone bag, which used to be quite standard for medical officers at one time.
None of the men are in hospital blue so I think all the men have a role related to the hospital in some way.

Edited 28 September , 2021 by FROGSMILE

[Marilyn Jones]

9 minutes ago, CorporalPunishment said:

The man on the far right is ASC.   Pete.

What is ASC please Pete?

[FROGSMILE]

It’s Army Service Corps Marilyn, they provided the drivers of horse drawn and motorised ambulances and would also probably have driven a car for the hospital’s commanding officer.

Edited 28 September , 2021 by FROGSMILE

[Marilyn Jones]

4 minutes ago, FROGSMILE said:

It’s Army Service Corps Marilyn, they provided the drivers of horse drawn and motorised ambulances and would also probably have driven a car for the hospital’s commanding officer.

Thank you once again. I'm learning a lot;  I just hope that I actually remember it.

[FROGSMILE]

8 minutes ago, Marilyn Jones said:

Thank you once again. I'm learning a lot;  I just hope that I actually remember it.

If you intend to take up collecting you can always make notes on sticky back ‘post-its’ and attach them to the back of the postcard Marilyn.

Edited 28 September , 2021 by FROGSMILE

[charlie962]

12 hours ago, CorporalPunishment said:

Kilt?. Looks like a table cloth to me Charlie

I thought like a floor cloth . So I assumed it was the tartan of clan MacClean ?

[Marilyn Jones]

34 minutes ago, charlie962 said:

I thought like a floor cloth . So I assumed it was the tartan of clan MacClean ?

😂😂😂

[Bob Davies]

Hi all, one soldier looks to be wearing a 1903 brass belt buckle. 5th in from right. Just to the right of yer man shouldering arms with the shovel in his left hand. That may give a clue to the date? Also their caps are of the rigid kind, so earlier war is normal for this type of head wear. Regards, Bob.

[PhilB]

Are we to assume that the two rum jars (reserved!) at the front are full? Looks like a festive occasion.

[FROGSMILE]

If you look at the Boy Scout you will see that he’s sat on a typical army bed made down for daytime hours.  The beds were designed with hinges at the halfway point to fold in two to clear an aisle down the centre of barrack rooms and increase the space for daytime use.  The mattress is a type comprised of three square sections (biscuits) of horse hair enclosed in and connected by by stout cotton canvas ticking that could be folded and stacked when not opened out flat.  On top are folded the blankets and sheets into a sandwich known as a bed block.  This was still the practice 60-years later.

Edited 29 September , 2021 by FROGSMILE

[Marilyn Jones]

13 hours ago, FROGSMILE said:

If you look at the Boy Scout you will see that he’s sat on a typical army bed made down for daytime hours.  The beds were designed with hinges at the halfway point to fold in two to clear an aisle down the centre of barrack rooms and increase the space for daytime use.  The mattress is a type comprised of three square sections (biscuits) of horse hair enclosed in and connected by by stout cotton canvas ticking that could be folded and stacked when not opened out flat.  On top are folded the blankets and sheets into a sandwich known as a bed block.  This was still the practice 60-years later. 

Husband had bed block in Fire Service Training, Washington Hall, Chorley early 80s. It was on his bed when he arrived and was still there when he left 3 months later!  He used a sleeping bag! 

[FROGSMILE]

2 hours ago, Marilyn Jones said:

Husband had bed block in Fire Service Training, Washington Hall, Chorley early 80s. It was on his bed when he arrived and was still there when he left 3 months later!  He used a sleeping bag! 

I’ve heard the same from various RAF servicemen.  Conversely the Army took the daily procedure concerned very seriously.

[PhilB]

The ability to make a passable bedblock was one you learnt quickly or suffered accordingly! If not passable, it didn`t take long to reach the ground outside the billet.

[FROGSMILE]

3 hours ago, PhilB said:

The ability to make a passable bedblock was one you learnt quickly or suffered accordingly! If not passable, it didn`t take long to reach the ground outside the billet.

That’s true in relation to the basic training regime that I think you’re referring to Phil, but back then even trained soldiers were expected to block their bedding as part of daily morning routine, which is a little different.

Edited 30 September , 2021 by FROGSMILE