British Eastern Auxiliary Hospital Serbia

[williywonker]

Does anyone have any information regarding this unit, please?

Most of its personnel received their 1914-15 Stars, War and Victory medals from the Admiralty and not the War Office.

I thought at first it was somehow connected to the Scottish Women's Hospitals or Mrs Stobart's Hospital but this does not appear to be the case.

Many thanks

Mal

Edited 22 April by williywonker
Grammar

[MaureenE]

This is an account titled The Last Days of Belgrade by one of the volunteers the hospital, T R F Butler. The subsequent commentary  refers to  an eventual obituary which refers to him as as a civilian orderly at a Red Cross Hospital in Belgrade.

http://www.webb-online.me.uk/docs/Belgrade.pdf

There is a section from page 21 "The Naval Hospital". 

Page 23 says "The British Eastern Auxiliary Hospital turned out to be ‘a curious little hole and corner affair’. ... its intended rôle in supporting the British Naval Mission had come to nothing, or to very little"

Maureen

Edited 23 April by MaureenE

[seaJane]

There are a couple of references in TNA Kew which are both available for download.

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_q="Eastern+auxiliary+hospital"

@keithmroberts do you have anything?

[MaureenE]

There is reference to some  medals of Nurse Elizabeth  C G Lorimer of the British Eastern Auxiliary Hospital. https://archive.org/details/ordersdecosmedalssept2011dixn/page/n122/mode/1up

She subsequently became Mrs Fitch. Her husband Henry Maldon Fitch was on the Naval Staff of the British Mission to Serbia, and he wrote a book which is available online in the Internet Archive My Mis-spent Youth. A Naval Journal [1937] (click on the title). There may be comments in the book about the hospital, although I haven't looked myself.

Maureen

[stephen p nunn]

Henry Maldon Fitch was the son of one-time Mayor of Maldon, Edward Arthur Fitch of Brickhouse Farm, Maldon.

Best regards.

Stephen (Maldon).

[stephen p nunn]

Henry's brother was Leonard Belcham Fitch who was a Private (1152) in the Essex Yeomanry. Born 1896, he was the youngest son of the late Edward Arthur Fitch (1854-1912) [farmer and former Mayor of Maldon] and Fanny Fitch (d.1917) of Brickhouse Farm,  Fambridge Road, Maldon. He First served in France 29/4/1915 and was at the Battle of Ypres. Gassed, discharged and died of pneumonia at Maldon on 8/7/1918 (aged 22).

Regards.

Stephen (Maldon).

 

 

[williywonker]

Thank you so much for your responses, they are much appreciated.

It is  interesting that unlike the two existing auxiliary hospitals that were 'attached' to the RND at Antwerp, the British Eastern Auxiliary was purposely organised on behalf of the Admiralty, which clearly recognised its contribution, hence the issue of war medals. I had previously been unaware of its existence. Fascinating.

Mal

[keithmroberts]

Jane asked if I had any further information about this unit

 

Sadly I can add nothing to the information above. As almost always I'm learning from the comments made by others. The book, my Mis-Spent Youth, is one of the many on my to read list.

 

Keith