10 months in hospital due to "barbed wire wound"?

[Paul Y]

Hello everyone... The WW1 Service Record (British Army) of one of my granduncles shows he was sent to the hospital in England, from France (remaining in the hospital for 10 months) due to "sickness, caused in active service". From the Service Record I was unable to determine what "sickness", exactly, was the culprit (I posted the relevant notes in this forum several months ago). After the war, my granduncle moved to South Africa where he served in the Local Defence Force for many years. I recently got his South African Record of Service, where I found an interesting (but incomplete) note where his WW1 service in the British Army is summarized (see attached). In the 5th line, right after the word "France" there is "F.C.T. barbed wire wound left"(...) which leads me to believe the incomplete sentence explains the reason for this serviceman leaving France. Could a "barbed wire wound" cause a "sickness" meriting 10 months in the hospital? Tetanus maybe? (my granduncle never had any limb amputated, by the way). And what would "F.C.T." possibly refer to? Just curious. Many thanks in advance for any insight on this.

 

 

[seaJane]

C.T. is usually Connective Tissue (tendons etc). Could the F be Femoral - relating to the femur or upper leg?

If he was on the Western Front the chances are high that such a wound became infected (no antibiotics) - and if gas gangrene had set in he would be lucky to survive, let alone without an amputation.

[Paul Y]

Thank you for the feedback seaJane. "Femoral Connective Tissue" would make sense BUT it seems to me an overly "medical" term to include in a form that is not medical in itself. But maybe it's something this serviceman was familiar with...? I'm not even sure whether "F.C.T." would refer to a previous sentence (..."France F.C.T."?) Interesting possibility, though.

[TEW]

I think the FCT does relate to the barbed wire wound somehow.

They did give ATS as a matter of course to wounded, that's Anti-Tetanus Serum. That doesn't mean people didn't get tetanus.

I'd wonder if the wound was minor but an infection set in later.

The T could be tetanus.

TEW

 

[Paul Y]

Thanks for the feedback TEW. That makes sense, yes.

[Dragon]

If your ancestor developed cellulitis in his wound site, he could have been very seriously ill for a long time. Without antibiotics, the infection can spread through the blood, bones and entire nervous system. It can lead to gangrene, amputation or death. He could have been unfit for ages after apparent recovery from the infection itself.

I myself have spent ten days in hospital with it on IV antibiotics and was ill a long time afterwards. I have come across people whose cellulitis was resistant to a range of antibiotics and have been hospitalised for weeks. The infection can result from a tiny entry point let alone a large wound.