There’s lots being done to commemorate the four years of World War One. Although I love history there’s nothing quite like a personal story to underline the horrific nature of war and the effects it had on the men who suffered because of it.
Chemical warfare is no new thing, even in our modern times. It goes back hundreds, even thousands of years, eg poisoned tipped arrows. Mustard gas was the first known chemical warfare of the 20th century. It was first used by the German army in 1917. Britain soon followed suit in 1918. The evil of this chemical is described vividly on Wikipedia as thus.My great uncle Ted North was born in 1892 in Hampshire and emigrated to Australia in 1913. He joined the AIF (Australian Imperial Force), which was a volunteer force, in December 1915.
In June 1917, whilst in Northern France (Étaples), he was exposed to mustard gas. Between 22-29 June 1917, he was transferred to three different field hospitals before being transferred to London General Hospital, where he stayed for 6½ weeks. He was then sent to an auxiliary hospital in Harefield, London for a few days before being sent to furlough for two weeks. Unfortunately he overstayed his furlough by 6½ hours and was forfeited seven days pay.
He was declared medically unfit and discharged from the army January 1918. He must have suffered as those men described above and developed bronchitis as a result. I can only wonder what he went through. He lived the rest of his life in Australia, and died aged 69 in 1962. He received the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. These medals were referred (irrelevantly) to as Pip, Squeak and Wilfred.
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