This may well be mission impossible but I have been sent some photos showing interiors of a likely convalescence buildings which I will post below. They were from a collection of a soldier who served with 9th Royal Sussex in Burma but had periods of convalescence which are likely to have been in India.I have never seen similar before and I find them fascinating. Included in the collection is a photo of a railway bridge near Ootacamundi, so it may be that the convalescence was at Wellington. All suggestions and ideas welcome. The period details -maps on walls notices etc are fascinating.
Since posting the above last year I have had some more documents sent to me by the son of the man in one of the photos. These indicate that in May/June 1945 Sgt Fogden was at No 3 IBGH suffering from pharyngtis and osteoarthritis, the latter probably as a result of the physical strain of the Burma war. I believe that this hospital was located in or near Poona. It is likely therefore that the photo of him above on some steps, was taken there. After this, papers indicate he was sent to the No 1 British Convalescent Depot which I believe to have been at Wellington Barracks.The first three photos above may well have been taken at that location. I know sorting out all these hospitals and depots is not easy but if anyone has any more info re these, please post. The signature on Sgt Fogdens Class "A" Release form is that of Capt. Harold W. Wicks or Dukes.RAMC
Might this be the war diary for No.1 Convalescent Depot? Reference: WO 177/587 Description: 1 Depot Date: 1943 Jan.- 1946 June Steve
Those are lovely photographs Sylvia. Can't help with the location, but was intrigued to see the Fogden surname turn up there. I think that is the first time I've seen my surname from a WW2 perspective.
Hi, During my own research on my Grandfather I`ve also looked into his time in India, during which he required hospitilisation at Nira C.B.M.H. near Poona (now Pune). He also went to Wellington Hill station for rest. By trawling the W-3008 forms of his regiment covering the period mid 1943 to late 1944, which gives the status of sick and absent soldiers, I discovered the following: No.3 I.G.B.H was in Poona No.126 I.G.B.H. was in Poona No.1 B.C.D. was in Poona (sometimes also referred to as No. 1 B.C.D. (B.T.) No. 9 B.C.D. was at Wellington Hill station. Based on this it sounds like your man went to 3 I.G.B.H. first and then 1 B.C.D., both in the Poona area. As it was not uncommon to send soldiers to Wellington for R & R, this may well have been related to his recovery. You`ve probably already done this, but have you looked at the back of the photo`s to see if there are any markings which would identify them from the same roll of film? Even though they might not be written on I`ve used this technique on a few occassions to bring images together which were previously all jumbled up. It`s a long shot but it may help. I`m not sure if it`s of any help but I also saw mention of there being a Gymkhana (Club) at Wellington and with a bit of Googling found some internal images which show the roof structure to be very similar to the ones of the Gym in your photo`s. That said I found similar for buildings in Ooty so it may just be the way these type of buildings were made and it could just as well be the Gym an No.1 B.C.D. Even so, the first photo does look rather like a club with all the big comfy chairs. Hope this helps a little, John
Hello both thanks for helpful info. I will bear all this in mind and might be able to put a couple more of the interior shots up here. Re the surname Fogden, am not sure how rare it is but I now know two of you. Maybe distant relations?
