A Doughboy overseas

On the 9th August 1918, 100 years ago today, Private Solomon Wraight (my Great Uncle) was serving overseas in the machine gun company of the 315th infantry regiment of the United States Army.

Solomon had been born in Lambeth, Surrey on the 22nd May 1895, the eldest child of Solomon and Alice Wraight (nee Uden). The family, originally from Kent moved to Wandsworth, Surrey in 1894/95 and by 1911 the Wraight family were living in Battersea, Middlesex with both Solomon and his father working as carpenters / joiners.

In August 1915, Solomon emigrated to the USA, and found employment as a carpenter in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, eventually becoming a naturalised American citizen in May 1917 and enlisting in the United States Army in October 1917.

His younger brother William, also a carpenter by trade, had joined the Royal Navy Air Service in March 1917.

Solomon Wraight 

American troops, under the command of General Pershing, started to arrive in ever increasing numbers in France during the summer of 1918 offsetting the temporary numerical advantage the Germans held on the Western front since the collapse of Russia.

The official history of the 315th Infantry describes the arrival in Brest, France of the Regiment on the 18th July. It is likely that Solomon arrived in later waves, as not all the regiment arrived in France at the same time, however Solomon is likely to have had similar experiences.

“We marched through the back streets of Brest and out into the country about six kilometres, where we were ushered into a nice wet field and ordered to pitch tents. This was called a rest camp but all we did was carry water and rations for about a mile or so, and hustle field ranges, baggage etc.”

After 4 days they left the rest camp for the 10th training area.

“After three wonderful days and nights on the train, we were put off at a place called Vivey-Chalmessin. Nobody knew where we were, or what we were going, so we pitched tents in a neighbouring field, and it was here that we were introduced to Vin Rouge while waiting for somebody to give an order. The next morning we started for Chatoillenot, arriving after a hike of 18 kilometers, and there we were billeted. 

The next six weeks formed the most strenuous period in the history of the machine gun company, and the drill was long and tough.”

Sources
The Official History of the 315th Infantry USA.

Wimbledon Wartime Marriage

On the 4th August 1918 Alfred Ernest Bush (My first cousin three times removed) aged 23 married Ellen Elizabeth Rose Scott in Wimbledon, Surrey.

Alfred was the second oldest son of Edwin Ernest and Ada Bush (nee Searle). He was born in 1895 in Wimbledon, Surrey and in 1911 the family were living at 41a Cowper Road, Wimbledon. Alfred was working as an Errand boy, his mother Ada had passed away in 1910. His three younger brothers, Arthur (born 1900, Wimbledon), Albert (born 1903, Wimbledon) and George (born 1908, Mitcham) were all at school. Another younger brother Frederick (born 1896, Wimbledon) was attending Holme Court Industrial School for Boys, Twickenham Rd, Isleworth, which was a certified truant industrial school. His older brother Edwin Maurice Bush (born 1893, Wimbledon) also an errand boy in 1911 was lodging with the Turner family at 49 Cowper Road, Wimbledon.

In 1918, Alfred was serving as a Driver with the Royal Field Artillery whilst his brother Frederick, who had joined the Royal Navy in April 1915 and had been mainly serving on the vessels patrolling the Humber estuary, but had now transferred to HMS Latona on duty in the Mediterranean.

Alfred’s father Edwin Ernest Bush (passed away between 1911 and 1918) had served in the Royal Navy between 1884 and 1892 serving onboard many ships the last one being HMS Helca.

Alfred’s older brother Edwin had married Rosetta Turner in 1915

Ellen Elizabeth Rose Scott was born in 1893 at St. Saviours, Croyden, Surrey. The daughter of William Scott.

One can only assume the marriage took place during Alfred's leave from the front.

Discharged from the army and back home to Rugeley

On the 19th July 1918, my Great Uncle James Hollins who was serving as a Private with the 1/6th Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment was discharged from active service.

James Hollins

James, also known as Jim or Jimmy, was born on the 15th September 1890 in Rugeley, Staffordshire. He was the third child of Benjamin James and Ann Hollins (nee Hodson). He had an older sister Mary Ann Hollins (Born 1884, Woodseaves, Staffs) and an older brother Benjamin (Born 1887, Rugeley, Staffs) who had died of his wounds in November 1915, after being gassed most likely in the attack on the Hohenzollern Redoubt. He also had two younger brothers Edward, also known as Ted, (Born 16th March 1895, Rugeley, Staffs) and Arthur (My Grandfather – Born 18th February 1897, Rugeley Staffs).

In 1911, the family were living at 27 Bow Street, Rugeley. James was a horse Driver in the local mine, his father, Benjamin, was a labourer above the ground at the colliery, Edward (aged 16 in 1911) also worked in the mines. Arthur (aged 14) was still at school. His sister Mary-Ann was employed doing domestic duties and her daughter Ada Scott Hollins (aged 7) was also living with the family.

Hollins family circa 1908 - 1910 at Bow Street
Standing L-R Mary, Edward, James, Arthur, Ben
Seated L-R Benjamin, Ann

James' mother Ann Hollins had passed away in 1913.

James had enlisted with the Army on the 23rd Jan 1912 (Source SWB record) and had arrived in France along with the rest of the battalion including his brother Benjamin on the 5th March 1915.

James Hollins around 1908

He took part in the attack on Hohenzollern Redoubt on the 13th October 1915 and was wounded in the assault which cost so many Staffordshire lives.

James married Frances Mary Moore between January and March 1918 in Rugeley. Their first child Doris M Hollins would be born in Rugeley on the 15th October 1918, so no doubt it was a relief for the pregnant Frances that on the 19th July James Hollins was discharged from the army under Kings regulations 392 (xvi) – being no longer physically fit for war service.

After their marriage James and Frances lived in Sandy Lane, Rugeley.

A letter from the King and a French General

On the 16th July 1918, Sergeant William Lovegrove, who was serving with the 52nd Royal Warwicks died of Pneumonia whilst at home. His death was reported in the Reading Mercury the following week.

Reading Mercury 27th July 1918

Sunninghill – Military funeral – Sergt. William Lovegrove 52nd Royal Warwicks, was buried with military honours at Sunninghill Churchyard on Saturday the coffin was carried on a motor aeroplane trailer and firing party was provided by the Royal Air Force, the band of the depot also being in attendance. The deceased was one of the eight solider sons of Mr & Mrs T. Lovegrove, and although he died while on home duty, he had been wounded in action on two more occasions. Three of his brother had been previously killed in action.

It was also reported in the Western Times that Mr & Mrs Thomas Lovegrove, of Kildare, Sunninghill had received a letter of congratulations from the King on their having eight sons in the army.

Sergeant William Charles Lovegrove died on the 16th July 1918, He was aged 30 and was the Son of Thomas and Marguerite Lovergrove, Sunninghill and the Husband of Ethel Lovegrove of St. Georges Cottages, Oriental Road, Berks.

William had married Ethel Emily Ellis in 1914 in Dorking, Surrey with their daughter Phyllis A R Lovegrove being born later that year. Their second child Joffre Douglas J Lovegrove was born in Windsor in 1916 and was obviously named after the French Commander in Chief - General Joseph Joffre. William and Ethel had a third child Trevor born in Portsmouth in 1917

Joffre Lovegrove would become the son in law of Annie and James Othen (My Great Grand Aunt / Uncle in law) when he married their daughter Edith Othen in 1938.

William’s brothers were
• Leslie Lovegrove (born 1881)
• Percy Dixon Lovegrove (born 1884)
• Preston Darry Gordon Lovegrove (Born 1885)
• Henry Lasam Herbert Lovegrove (born 1887)
• Horace Leonard Lovegrove (born 1896) died 22nd November 1915 (Basra Memorial)
• Francis George Lovegrove (born 1890)
• Samuel Ernest Lovegrove (born 1892) died 26th October 1917 (Tyne Cot Memorial)
• David Lovegrove(born 1896)
• Maurice Hestor Lovegrove(born 1897)

Another brother Roberts was born in 1900 and William also had a sister Hilda Dorothy born in 1896.

It has not as yet been possible through research to positively identify the seven other brothers mentioned in the letter from King George V. or the third brother mentioned in the paper as being killed in the War.

Battling Typhoid & Malaria on the North West Frontier

On the 8th July 1918, 100 years ago today, James Othen, who had married Annie Cobbold (my great grand aunt in law), was taken sick again and admitted to hospital.

James had travelled to India with the 1/4th Battalion Royal West Surrey Regiment in October 1916 arriving in Bombay in late December that year. The 1/4th Queen’s had moved to Tank to join the Waziristan Field Force in early 1917. However, the battalion was so stricken by illness that soon after its arrival it was withdrawn and dispatched to Dagshai and Jutogh in the Simla Hills to recover.

James was stationed in Dagshai and then moved with the rest of the battalion to Lahore in the spring of 1918. James had been hospitalised with Malaria in March 1918

On July 8th 1918 James Othen, was admitted to hospital in Amritsar, in the Punjab region of North West India suffering with what was initially recorded as P.U.O. (Pyrexia of Unknown origin), which is generally associated with high fever and raised body temperature, this however is later crossed out and replaced with an M – which given James previous hospital admission probably means a final diagnosis of malaria. He remained in hospital in Amritsar until the 14th August 1918 as part of the Enteric group of patients (Enteric meaning intestinal problems) when he was then transferred to the Enteric convalescence hospital until the 21st September 1918

Enteric (typhoid) fever is a systemic disease characterised by fever and abdominal pain caused by dissemination of Salmonella

Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a bacterial infection due to Salmonella typhi that causes symptoms which may vary from mild to severe and usually begin six to thirty days after exposure.Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several days.Weakness, abdominal pain, constipation, and headaches also commonly occur.  Some people develop a skin rash with rose coloured spots and in severe cases there may be confusion.Without treatment, symptoms may last weeks or months.

The cause is the bacterium Salmonella Typhi, growing in the intestines and blood.Typhoid is spread by eating or drinking food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person. Risk factors include poor sanitation and poor hygiene.

James had originally enlisted with the 5th Reserve Battalion “The Queens” Royal West Surrey on the 5th October 1914 aged 34 years and 6 months and was 5 feet 5 3/4 inches. He was living at 71 Orchard Rise, Dorking, Surrey and was considered physically fit. James was employed as a bricklayer's labourer at that time.

The battle in India for the troops and for James Othen in particular seems to have been against the conditions and the diseases rather than enemy fire.

Back to Blightly with a case of the Spanish Flu?

Private John Vernon serving with the 7th Reserve West Yorkshire Battalion had been out in France since the 31st March 1918, however on the 1st July 1918 John return to England.

John Vernon was born in Brereton, Rugeley, Staffordshire in 1899, his Uncle Joseph Vernon was married to my Great Aunt Elizabeth Ann Renshaw.

Since the 8th June 1918 He had been suffering with a high fever and this was officially recorded as PUO which is the abbreviation for Pyrexia of unknown (or uncertain) origin, a term applied
to febrile illness before diagnosis has been established; also referred to as FUO (Fever of unknown origin). and was generally associated with fever and raised body temperature.

Although the fever eased to a mild fever throughout June, his condition was still poor enough that it meant he was transported back to England on the 30th June arriving on the 1st July.

During 1918 all nations were greatly effected by the Spanish Flu pandemic, which resulted in the deaths of millions worldwide. Sporadic record-keeping in wartime, and the failure to make influenza officially notifiable, meant that actual incidence was undoubtedly far higher than was officially reported. The disease was often confused with other conditions, and in the initial pandemic phase, when its nature was a complete mystery, cases were often recorded as 'PUO' (Pyrexia of unknown origin), 'three-day fever', or given some other generic label. It is suggested that mortality figures for the Spanish Flu should also be upwardly revised, as virulent flu often paved the way for fatal complications but was not certified as a cause of death.

It infected 500 million people around the world and resulted in the deaths of 50 to 100 million (3 - 5% of the world's population),

It is uncertain whether John was suffering from Spanish Flu and the terrible pandemic which was infecting and killing millions worldwide, but clearly he was unwell enough to be transferred back to England.

This first wave had resembled typical flu epidemics; those most at risk were the sick and elderly, while younger, healthier people recovered easily. The second wave of the 1918 pandemic which developed in August 1918 was much deadlier than the first. Academics have concluded that the fact that most of those who recovered from first-wave infections were now immune showed that it must have been the same strain of flu. 

For the rest of the population it was far more deadly now; the most vulnerable people were those like the soldiers in the trenches – young previously healthy adults.

Repairing the Canadian trenches

On the 26th June 1918, my Great Grand Uncle, Albert Benjamin Uden was admitted to hospital. Albert Uden was serving as a Lance Corporal, with the 4th Field Company, 2nd Canadian Engineers, Canadian Expeditionary Force.

Albert Benjamin Uden was born on the 17th October 1882 in Dover, Kent. He was the youngest child of Albert and Eliza Uden (nee Sowman). An older brother Charles Edward Uden had died in infancy in 1880, his older sister Alice Uden (My Great Grandmother) was born on the 21st February 1873 in Bridge, Canterbury.

His father was a Potato merchant / greengrocer by trade. The family grew up on Seven Star Street in Dover, having moved there from Bridge, Canterbury in the early 1880’s shortly before Albert’s birth. Albert married Maude Torr, also from Dover, in 1905 in Paddington and along with their newly born son Albert they emigrated to Toronto, Canada in 1907 sailing on the Empress of Britain.

In 1915 Albert, Maude and their two sons Albert (born in Paddington in 1906) and George (born in Ontario, Canada in 1910) were living in Bellwoods Ave, Toronto.

A carpenter by trade Albert was aged 32 years and 2 months when on the 20th January 1915 he enlisted as a sapper in the 4th Field Company of the Canadian Engineers. He was 5ft 5in tall with brown eyes, dark brown hair and a dark complexion. Albert also had two vaccination scars on his right arm and a scar on his left shin.

The 4th Field Company, Canadian Engineers, had left Halifax, Nova Scotia on the 18th April 1915 bound for England on board the HMT Northland. The voyage took 11 days in total, the Company, under the command of Major G.A. Inksetter. arrived in England on the 29th April 1915.
After six months of training in England, the company embarked for France on the 16th September 1915.

Albert Uden had recently been appointed (7th May 1918) to the rank of Lance Corporal and on the 26th June 1918, 100 years ago today, the company were based at La Riviere and were engaged in various tasks working on two dugouts , fixing the wire in another part of their sector and working on theatre hut (source War Diary 4th Field Company, Canadian Engineers) . However on this day Albert Uden was admitted to the 5th Canadian Field Ambulance suffering from a varicose ulcer on the right leg. The problem had been an on-going one during recent months.

He had previously received treatment on the 1st January 1918 at the 6th Canadian Field Ambulance for an ICT (Inflammation of the Connective Tissue) of the right leg, he had been discharged back to duty on the 9th January.

The War Diary for the 6th Canadian Field Ambulance for the 1st January 1918 reads

Fine – Cold

Estree Gauchie S9 W1 SP7
De La Haie         S10 W0 SP55

Games, gas and squad drills during the morning. Capt D W McKechnie has been promoted to the rank of Major from 17-12-17

Quiet Day

S = Sick, W = Wounded, G = Gassed, SP = Sick Parade


Albert would later be transferred on the 1st July on to the No. 6 General hospital in Rouen, for further treatment on his ulcer and he was finally discharged back to reinforcements in Etaples on the 23rd July 1918.

Inflammation of the Connective Tissue along with trench foot was one of the more common aliments that affected soldiers in World War One. For Albert constantly repairing trenches in all conditions it is not surprising he suffered with this condition.

Albert’s nephews Solomon Charles Wraight was serving with the 315th Infantry Division of the United States Army having emigrated from England in 1915 and William John Wraight was serving with the Royal Air Force

References
Canadian Library and Archives