Leave and convalescence in WWI

[Mo-anne]

My grandfather was James Stoddart ( born on 3rd June 1890 in Hurlet Abbey Parish) – I’m trying to find out about his time in the First World War

According to what my mother told me, he met my grandmother at Bellahouston Hospital: my grandmother and her sister used to go there to visit wounded soldiers/ take them out to tea. Is there anywhere I can find out more about the hospital and when soldiers were admitted?

I know my grandfather fought and was wounded in the First World War but I don’t know what regiment he was in or where he fought. I also have memories of him telling me he spent some time in German P o W camp and I always assumed he’d been there till the end of the war but I’ve discovered he was in Glasgow on 13th february 1917 as he registered the death of his mother in Renfrew. Could he have been home on leave then? Or would he only have been back in Scotland if he had been wounded?

Thanks in advance for any information.

[WilmaM]

If you can find his Army Service Records then they should tell you a lot of that information.

I think it's the National Archives that hold them or Ancestry - an expert will be along in a moment to tell you

The 1 WWI record I have even gives the ship he was sent to 'Blighty' on.

[Currie]

Hello Mo-anne,

I don’t claim to be an expert but I’ll have a go.

Most WW1 soldier’s records were destroyed during WW2 bombing. The surviving records and the pension records of soldiers who received a pension after the war can be accessed at Ancestry. Your chances of finding a service record for your soldier are probably about two in three. http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/cat ... spx?cat=39

Ancestry also has WW1 Campaign Medal lists. If you don’t have an Ancestry subscription you can check these out at the National Archives site. There appears to have been about 30 James Stoddarts in the British Army and near to half of those were in Scottish regiments, although that’s no guarantee. You could eliminate some of them by checking the Scottish National War Memorial site for those who died. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/docu ... ueryType=1

You may end up having to trawl through the records at Ancestry hoping there will be something in one that will identify it as belonging to yours.

The Long Long Trail site contains a huge amount of information about the British Army during WW1. http://www.1914-1918.net/grandad/grandad.htm

It seems that compassionate leave was a possibility and there’s an interesting thread about it here. http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forum ... pic=111171

The Scotsman, 15 Oct 1915.
A hospital train conveying lightly wounded soldiers from France, arrived in Glasgow yesterday afternoon. There were over 40 stretcher cases, and the men were taken to the new Bellahouston hospital, which was formally opened shortly after the men arrived.

Here’s some Scottish wounded from The Scotsman.

The Scotsman, 01 June 1915.
List of wounded. From Sanquhar: Private James Stoddart, Seaforths, wounded in head by shrapnel and slightly gassed. Private Stoddart is is right back of Nithsdale Wanderers Football Club.

The Scotsman, 19 Oct 1915.
Suffering from Gas poisoning: Highland Light Infantry, 9th bn. (Glasgow Highlanders), (TF) Stoddart, 2964, J. C.

The Scotsman, 01 Aug 1916.
Among the wounded admitted to Stobhill Military Hospital was a J. Stoddart, 1691, Royal Scots.
The Scotsman, 06 Sep 1916.
Wounded. Royal Scots: Stoddart, 1691, J. (Prestonkirk)

The Scotsman, 04 Sep 1917.
Wounded. Cameron Highlanders: Stoddart, 200542 , L-Cpl. J. (Broadford)

The Scotsman, 04 Dec 1917.
Wounded. Highland Light Infantry, Stoddart, 305439, J. (Douglas).

Hope there’s something useful there,
Alan

PS The German Army took many prisoners during the last year of the war.