The soldier …… the Hall and a thank you ….

Now I like the way a story takes an unexpected twist and, in the process, sheds fresh light on the life of a soldier of the Great War.

Sidney Albert Taylor, 1916

And so, it is with Sidney Albert Taylor, who in 1916 was recovering from wounds in the small village of Woodstock in Norfolk.*

The story was prompted by the discovery of a picture postcard with his photograph on one side and an upbeat message to a Miss I. A. Taylor of Gateshead on the reverse.

It was slim pickings but I found Miss I.A. Taylor, who turned out to be Sidney Albert’s sister and from there the story unfolded back into the later 19th century with their births and early lives and in the case of Mr. Taylor forward into 1939.

But what was missing from the piece was just exactly where he had spent his time as an invalid in that tiny Norfolk village.  My Wikipedia tells me that it is a small village which in the 2001 census had a population of 362 in 157 households, and ten years had increased by just 37 people.**

And judging by Street Google the place will not have been so different 108 years ago.

In the story finished buy adding “I will go looking for where in the village he spent his time recovering from his wounds, but I suspect it has gone”, but has so often happens I got drawn away.

Daily Express, November 20, 1916

I did wonder about whether he was in a private home which had been given over to the Red Cross.

It was a practice that you can find all over the country in the Great War, where the owners of large houses and even modest ones, turned them over to be used as hospitals.  It was an act of generosity which in many cases saw the building remain a medical facility after the conflict.

Alternatively, many recovering soldiers were looked after in converted church halls, and even schools.

Woodbastick Hall, circa 1914

But I doubted Woodbastick would have had a large enough church hall or school which would have done the business.

And there I left it.  

So, I was very pleased today when I received an email from Terry who wrote, 'Dear Andrew, You wrote, I will go looking for where in the village he spent his time recovering from his wounds, but I suspect it has gone. 

I think I’ve found where he stayed and you’re correct, it has gone. “Lost Heritage, Woodbastwick Hall, Location, Woodbastwick, County, Norfolk. Year demolished, 1971, Reason, Poor state of repair - possibly demolished to avoid listing. The photo is of the hall just about the time of WW1, taken from the website."'**

And that was perfect because the site offers up the history of the Hall and some nice pictures, which can be viewed by following the link.

The message from Sidney Albert, 1916

The added bonus was a newspaper account of seven wounded soldiers arriving from the Battle of Ypres to recover the Red Cross Auxiliary Hospital, at Woodbastick Hall.

Now The Red Cross carries an online site detailing all their medical establishments during the Great War, and I may dip into it …… but of course I may be beaten to the research by Terry, which just leads me to thank him.

Location; Norfolk

Pictures; Sidney Albert Taylor, 1916, from the collection of David Harrop,Woodbastick Hall, circa 1914, courtesy of Matthew Beckett,  and newspaper clipping courtesy of Terry. 

*A photograph ..... a postcard ..... and the search for a sister ....Sidney Albert Taylor ...... https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/2022/02/this-is-sidney-albert-taylor-sometime.html

** Woodbastwick, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodbastwick

 ***Woodbastick Hall, Norfolk, http://www.lostheritage.org.uk/houses/lh_norfolk_woodbastwickhall_info_gallery.html