Blighty ............. a unique record from the Great War part 6 of doctors and nurses and airman

Some of the doctors and nurses at St John's circa 1917

Now sometime in 1917 one of the patients of the St John’s Hospital in Cheltenham put together an imaginary “meeting” of some of the doctors and nurses.

It was a bit of fun but it has handed us a clue to a few of the Red Cross staff who tended to the wounded and it reminded me of that simple lesson that you should always do your research thoroughly for had I done so I would not have made that most basic of mistakes and written something about the hospital which was wrong.

F Wilson, 10th Argyle and Sutherlands

I had assumed that we knew only two of the nurses and they have proved elusive to track down but not so for here now are the names of sixteen doctors and nurses who in the fullness of time will offer up something of their lives.

And that will put into context the book which includes their names and those of some of the men who stayed at St John’s.

It was an autograph book started by Miss Rachel Wattis who hoped that it would be a permanent reminder of the men who passed through the hospital and would still be seen

“When the leaves of this Book are yellow with age,
And the fingers are still that have wrote on this page,”

And just under a century later I am privileged to be able to turn those pages and read the poems and inscriptions along with some fine drawings and water colours.

Sgt J H DeGraves, 1917

Here is a tiny but moving piece of history recording the thoughts of men from every part of Britain and from further away for one of the entries is from a young soldier of the “47 Canadian Infantry Wounded Vimy Ridge January 1 1917.”

And he turned out to be the first whose story came to light after the article was posted on a Canadian site dedicated to British Home Children.

Having read the account of his stay in Cheltenham Susan Brazeau in Alberta went looking for his service records and we now know he enlisted in Vancouver in the July of 1915, and was 31 when he was wounded.

I have every confidence more of the lives of those named in the book will come forward.

Already with the help of one of the archivists at Cheltenham Local & Family History Library it has been possible track Miss Rachel Wattis by following the name of her brother whose name appears below her inscription.

 “The inscription at the bottom of the image says “1st (A?) Wattis , Late 15th Squadron, RFC”…

Rachael Wattis and Harry Wattis, 1916

I’ve looked him up and he was H Wattis 2nd class (or possibly 1st class) Air Mechanic in the Royal Flying Corps, number 3264. 

He saw action in France and was mobilised around 20/12/2015 earning the 15 Star but no later medals. I would assume he may have been injured early in the war as a lot of 15 Squadron were injured flying reconnaissance missions. 

Having looked on the Imperial War Museum site ‘lives of the first world war’ I note there is a Harry Hampton Wattis with the same regimental number who was in the RFC (he’s actually on there twice, also shown as H Wattis). 

The full inscription of Ms R Wattis, 1916

Having looked on the 1911 census I have found him living at 57 Fulham Road Sparkhill B'ham with his mother and sister (both called Rachel) so I think this is likely to be the family in question. 

Worth  a bit more delving maybe…”**

Now that just makes the history jump off the page and of course points to the importance of sharing and working together.

So with that said and a bit more of the lives of the some of St John’s Hospital revealed I will go off and ponder what next.

Pictures; entries from Blighty, the autograph book of St John’s Red Cross Hospital, Cheltenham, courtesy of David Harrop 

Entry from Blighty, © David Harrop

* Cheltenham Local & Family History Library, http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/archives/article/109250/Cheltenham-Local-and-Family-History-Centre

** Rebecca Sillence, Library Customer Assistant, Cheltenham Local & Family History Library