British General Hospitals: Locations

Discussion in 'RAMC' started by Sue Light, Jan 1, 2010.

  1. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Hi,

    This area has been discussed here and there on the forum, but to save you searching time, the Kew reference is WO177/2173. Just browse back and forth from that point and you should find them?

    Bamboo.
     
  2. Sue Light

    Sue Light Member

    Do you know the reference at Kew for a similar list for Indian General Hospitals? I am researching my father-in-law's service and he was in hospitals in Imphal, Poona and Secunderbad after being wounded in the defence of Imphal but I don't know which units.

    As mentioned above, all the Indian units have unit war diaries in WO177. However, my list of British General Hospitals was taken from sheets found in WO222/1568, and I'm not aware if there are similar lists for Indian units, although there is a great many documents relating to Indian units in WO222. To work from unit war diaries would mean going through each one and logging the locations and dates of each one - this would be very labour intensive! For British units this was already done, which really only left me to transcribe and sort the information.

    Regards --- Sue
     
  3. Hammertime

    Hammertime Junior Member

    Hi Sue, thanks for your impressive work on this! It's helped me in my research as my Grandad was in 92 general hospital.

    I've had a look at the Scudillo in Naples and it looks like there are 2 hospitals there: the Ospedale Antonio Cardarelli and the Ospedale San Gennaro Fuori le Muro. Would the 92nd have been in one of these as they certainly look old enough or am I miles away in my assumptions?

    Mike
     
  4. Sue Light

    Sue Light Member

    Mike

    I honestly don't know where exactly the hospital was in Naples, or if it was in exisiting buildings or improvised (or both). It really needs a check through the unit war diary at The National Archives for the time period you need to see if it sheds any light.

    Sue
     
  5. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Sue

    Going by memory alone, and I am talking of 66 years ago, 92nd General was on top of a hill.
    I was to write about it many years later, see below.
    On March 17th, 1944, whilst my regiment (the 49th LAA) was smoke laying at Cassino, poor living conditions finally caught up with me and I erupted into a bad case of running sores, mainly on my arms and face. The lads on our wireless truck persuaded me to report sick and I duly presented myself for MO’s inspection. After a cursory glance he instantly diagnosed Impetigo and sent me off to the nearest FAP. Here they kept me a day and then sent me packing to the 92nd General Hospital based in Naples.
    The trip down, by hospital train, was un-eventful although I was immensely embarrassed to be travelling in the same compartment as a batch of ‘walking wounded’ most of them still with their original dressings and plaster casts. One chap in particular kept thrusting the plaster cast on his arm at me, wanting to know if it still smelt bad!
    When we arrived at Naples the city was covered in a grey ash as Vesuvius had chosen that month to erupt for the first time in I don’t know how many years.
    The 92nd General was perched up on top of a hill overlooking the bay and I have various strong memories of my two weeks stay.
    The best was the combination of a hot bath and clean white sheets, the first I could remember since October 1942 and producing sheer bliss.
    The fact that the hospital was bombed during the night did nothing to reduce my pleasure although I did think at the time it would have been ironical to lose my life in that manner after surviving life in the field so far.
    The worst memory was the extremely painful, twice daily, treatment sessions, none of your white starched female nurses for me, just a heavy handed male orderly breaking open scabs every time they healed and much painting with a horrible violet coloured ointment.
    We were obliged to wear ‘Hospital Blues’ a completely soul destroying operation. White shirt, red tie, blue serge ill-fitting jacket and trousers, all presumably to make us instantly recognisable as non-combatants and how that uniform itched!
    On the 30th of March (G-d bless my Army Records) I was released from purgatory, returned to my unit and was back to the same living conditions as before.
     
  6. Hammertime

    Hammertime Junior Member

    Thanks Sue I'll give that a go.
     
  7. Hammertime

    Hammertime Junior Member

    Thanks again Ron. Seems like you would've been in the hospital the same time as my Grandad!
     
  8. Sue Light

    Sue Light Member

    Sue
    Going by memory alone, and I am talking of 66 years ago, 92nd General was on top of a hill.

    With good hot baths it does at least sound as though it was in a building at the top of that hill and not a tent :rolleyes:

    Sue
     
  9. 2EastYorks

    2EastYorks Senior Member

    Thank you Sue, I can now place my Grandad in Brussels when he was a patient with the 108 (BR) General Hospital, great stuff!
     
  10. Doug Goldsmith

    Doug Goldsmith Junior Member

    Sue,

    I have been told you might be able to help me. My father was with the SAS in France in 1944;after Operation Haggard ended he was hospitalised.I do not know what he was suffering from and am unable to find any medical records except that he was sent to" 203 General Hospital NWE" on 8th October 1944. If you could tell me what that hospital was called and where it was located I should be very grateful.

    Doug
     
  11. Sue Light

    Sue Light Member

    Doug

    203rd General (North West Europe) was a U.S. Army hospital and not a British one, so I don't have any details of locations. But I see it has a page on Wikipedia, though can't vouch for the accuracy! This page suggests that it was in the general area of Paris at the time you're interested in.

    203rd General Hospital - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Sue
     
  12. Jedburgh22

    Jedburgh22 Very Senior Member

  13. Beee

    Beee Member

    just to say thank you for your hospital link, it's brilliant!
     
  14. John McLoughlin

    John McLoughlin Junior Member

    Thanks very much, Sue. A great help. I have often wondered where these hospitals were as I read service records of my dad´s army mates. I´m a bit confused about 12th General Hospital, though. Many of the service records I´ve seen quite clearly state "12th General", but was it called by the other names, "60 BGH" and "62 BGH"?
    John
     
  15. Sue Light

    Sue Light Member

    John
    From what I can see, 12 British General Hospital divided into two halves in May 1940, one part staying in Sarafand and becoming 60 B.G.H. and the other part moving to Jerusalem. The National Archives Catalogue clearly shows that 12 B.G.H. carried on in some form after that, right up to 1946 - the dates in the Catalogue suggest that it was inactive from June to October, and was then reinstated elsewhere. It might need reference to the war diaries of the units to sort it out.

    Sue
     
  16. Barb20

    Barb20 Member

    Just come across your posting Sue. Can't thank you enough for enabling me to get answers to some of my questions.
     
  17. aussie113

    aussie113 Junior Member

    Hi sue,

    Hope you can help with this medical search enquiry for a old vet.

    He served in british army unit , possibly the east surrey regiment and was on point of shipping off overseas in 1943? when he and several others contracted TB in London docks.
    Are you aware of TB in the forces in southern england?
    Can you advise where in the southern counties he might have been sent, he was invalided out in late 1947 but cannot recollect either his army unit or which hospital

    any help would be most appreciated.

    Our goal is to prove his residence in british army hospital(s) and thus his service info etc.

    We are all based in Australia so your knowledge and proximity to uk records could be very relevant,

    Kind regards,

    Tony
     
  18. aussie113

    aussie113 Junior Member

    Has anyone being in touch with sue light on british army hospitals or know about TB in the British army from1943-1947.

    Better still can sue light get in touch with me.

    have a problem with a raf lancaster aircrew who suffered jaundice and mumps in Lincolnshire in 1944...need to trace the Hospital they were sent to.

    any info from sue light or her friends most welcome
     
  19. 1973mackem

    1973mackem Junior Member

    Ive not been on here for a while, but great to read through the posts. My Dad was in 92 hospital 1944 at time of eruption or shortly after, having been injured north of Perugia serving with 1/6th Durham Light Infantry. Seems he was in hospital with a few of your relatives. He always spoke of sharing his ward with Gurkhas and Indians. He fought alongside Indian regiments and till his dying day held them in very high esteem. Im visiting Perugia week commencing 1st September 2014, i will try to take many photos, if anyone has anything they want a photo of, give me details and i will try my utmost.
     
  20. Steve Mac

    Steve Mac Very Senior Member

    Hello Mackem,

    Not sure about your 1/6th Durham Light Infantry reference. The 6th Bn DLI served in N Africa (8th Army), Sicily and then back to the UK for D-Day and beyond. The 16th Bn DLI served in N Africa (1st Army) and then Italy. I have never heard of a 1/6th in WWII...is this a typo?

    Best,

    Steve.
     

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