how to find casualty records

[BRI54]

This is the only info i have of our great uncle, would like to know if there are any hospital records
of this incident, thank you 

[gortonboy]

His service record is online at findmypast?

[*Sandra*]

Cause of Death -    Died of wounds in 26th General Hospital Etaples (severe bomb wound to the head, received in an enemy Air Raid at Etaples 19/5/18)


Service History reads - Enlisted 17/7/15  -  Draft for BEF 4/12/16, joined Howe Bn. 11/12/16-14/2/17 Piles, rejoined Howe Bn. 7/4/17-24/4/17 Shell Shock, rejoined Howe Bn. 25/4/17-3/10/17 Contusion left shoulder accidental, rejoined Howe Bn. 31/12/17, attached 1st RM Bn. 11/2/18-17/2/18 Infected Mid Ear, rejoined 1st RM Bn. 4/3/18-3/4/18 to hospital.

NB - CWGC has no record of attachment to 1st Royal Marine Bn. -  A Cart-Man ; b.3/1/1897  -  Next-of-Kin & home address: Mother, Ellen, Stagg Yard, Percy St., Newcastle-on-Tyne.

Sandra

[MaxD]

Desperate bad luck in that he seems to have been the only fatal casualty in that hospital in that raid, (from the Australian archives) http://www.throughtheselines.com.au/research/etaples/ about half way down.

MaxD

[BRI54]

many thanks all for the quick reply, thanks MaxD.

[MaxD]

The Howe Battalion in which he served was reorganised in Feb 1918.  Men were shared between the 1st and 2nd Royal Marine Light Infantry Battalions (and others to 7 Entrenching Battalion), he went to 1st RMLI in mid February.  The note "no record of attachment" would simply mean the move hadn't caught up in his documents.

The war diary of 1 RMLI is at  http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7355461, downloadable for £3.50 if you wanted to see what they were doing in the short time he was with them.

MaxD

[jim1]

The diary is a bit vague & to find what he was doing when he was injured you need to look at others who were involved in the same operation.
3 & 4/4/1918 the Batt. were on the march to Englebermer ( N.W. of Albert ).
They bivouacked in an orchard just outside the village which was shelled on the 4th. April but the C.O. states there were no casualties.
There were however a large number of casualties on April 5th. & 6th when the Batt. were sent out to Aveluy Wood along with other Batts. of the Bde's. (188th. & 190th.) where they encountered enemy machine gun posts. So more likely wounded in the wood rather than in the camp.

[MaxD]

The dates on his record are a bit of a mess but close reading suggests he had been at 24 General Hospital also at Etaples, since 7 April via 149 Field Ambulance on 3rd April (3 wounded were admitted to the FA that day), had been discharged to 3 Base Depot on 19 May and it was there he received the head wound.  The link has :  "There were no casualties among the nursing staff at No.24 General Hospital. This unit took in a large number of casualties from the Infantry Base Depot and the Household Cavalry Camp". He was then admitted to 26 GH on 20 May where he died.

MaxD