Location of Casualty Clearing Stations

[Guest DianeHatwell]

I believer there is a book called the Location of Casualty Clearing Stations in World War 1. Would someone with a copy kindly look up Auchonvillers for me. I am a bit hazy about what was there, but no my man D.P.Ratcliffe is in the cemetery there, having died of his wounds, and that Avril Williams' cellar seems to have been used as a first aid post of some description. Just wondering if there is any more detail to be gleaned.

thanks

Diane

[Sparky53]

Have you seen this web site:-

https://www.avrilwilliams.eu/

Also there is info in this thread

 

Jane

[Tom Morgan]

I believer there is a book called the Location of Casualty Clearing Stations in World War 1. Would someone with a copy kindly look up Auchonvillers for me. I am a bit hazy about what was there, but no my man D.P.Ratcliffe is in the cemetery there, having died of his wounds, and that Avril Williams' cellar seems to have been used as a first aid post of some description. Just wondering if there is any more detail to be gleaned.

thanks

Diane

Diane - the book is "Location of Hospitals and Casualty Clearing Stations, British Expeditionary Force, 1914-1919." It doesn't mention Auchonvillers, but it only covers the locations of hospitals and casualty clearing stations, both of which were large, semi-permanent units some miles away from the front lines.

Avril's cellar was used, as you say, as an aid post or something similar, and these would be located much nearer to the front lines and would be much smaller, temporary locations. The book doesn't cover these.

Tom

[Jerrymurland]

Tom, how much info does the book give about individual stations and Hospitals?

Jerry

[Tom Morgan]

Jerry - not vast amounts of information, I'm afraid. It was a list compiled by the Ministry of Pensions in 1923. I believe it was for use in dealing with War Pension claims. The book is a xerox copy of the original, with card covers, A4 sized, and Part I consists of a list of places, and by each place are details of which hospitals or casualty Clearing stations were there, with "from" and "to" dates, and sometimes remarks. (See photo)

Part II consists of a list of Divisions, with for each division the numbers of Field Ambulances attached, the date they arrived in France and remarks noting (for example) that a particular Field Ambulance "Left B.E.F. for Italy,23.11.17."

Part III is a list of miscellaneous hospitals in France, and these are the ones with unusual names like "Lady Murray's Hospital" and the remarks give the offical designation, so you can find it under its location in Part I.

[Jerrymurland]

Tom, this looks very like the pages on this website, same format and typescript!

http://www.ku.edu/carrie/specoll/medical/hspindex.htm

Jerry

[Tom Morgan]

Jerry - yes, the published version and the version you link to are both copies of the same original document (there are some pencilled-in notes which are there in both versions.) However the web-site you link to only has Part I of the full listing.

Tom

[MartinWills]

And page five is missing.

[Jerrymurland]

Anything of particular note on Page 5?

Jerry

[Guest DianeHatwell]

Thanks gentlemen,

as always you answered my question, and i learnt a lot that i didnt know i didnt know. fantastic.

visited avril's cellar last year, very moving.

Diane