GREATWAR-L Archives

Archiver > GREATWAR > 2005-02 > 1108835816


From: "Tom Tulloch-Marshall" <>
Subject: Re: [WW1] medical question, 1914
Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2005 18:02:52 -0000
References: <006c01c51699$0f589c80$eaa59a51@default> <whGym7BHp2FCFweg@purley.demon.co.uk>


"......... from the Royal Berkshires we have 667 men who were discharged as
'not likely to become an efficient soldier' between August 1914 and July
1915 - quite a large number of these reappear after March 1916 as having
been called up "

John, and all others who kindly expressed an opinion, - yes that's what had
worried me, especially the chance that this man had ended up back in service
and been kia / dow in some guise that I'm not recognising - because as a
civvie he completely disappears !

Interesting feedback off-list (! you know who you are !) says .............
"I have had a word with my medical expert (The wife) ........... In those
days surgery was not very successful in repairing the damage. In fact she
thinks that it unlikely he would have been operated on."

That's the angle I was wondering about - no NHS, no health insurance,
probably had no money, not to mention surgical techniques which by our
current standards might seem more like butchery than surgery, and then no
antibiotics etc for problems during recovery. Would he ever have been
operated on - was that type of hernia operated on in 1914 ? - anybody know ?
regards
--
Tom Tulloch-Marshall
Great War Military Research
Website > http://www.btinternet.com/~prosearch/index.html



This thread: