Service Records - Royal Army Medical Corps

[BorderReiver]

Perhaps it's not the place but:

One story I remember my father telling me, as a child, was that at one time they were billeted at a Maharajah's Palace. The gates to the palace would be guarded by sentries at night and they would often hear footsteps at night coming towards them on the paving... but there was never any-one there - It used to scare them to death 

[TessieWessie]

Have just got back to looking at Rootschat and wish to thank all who were kind enough to help with my query re Kakinada.  From the descriptions you all gave regarding the area and military presence it seems that the stories we were all told about my father-in-Laws service during WW11 were definitely exaggerated.  We were told he nursed in hospitals in Burma and assumed he nursed the soldiers who suffered in the prisons camps.  Quite a sad comment to make, but that was what my mother-in-law was led to  believe.
TessieWessie

[BorderReiver]

Hi TessieWessie.

I think your father-in-law would have treated soldiers who fought in Burma an many of them could well have been prisoners of war.  They were not necessarily exaggerated but, over time, stories do get a little distorted.   

[harvo]

Hi,
   Your Father in laws remarks may not be the exaggeration you now have come to believe.
            Please for your further interest and research go to 'qaranc 'site and in the left hand column click on "qaimns for India" there are several Nurses Stories of how the Hospitals in India Worked,attached to the nurses were also the RAMC ,and casualties had to be recovered from other areas such as Burma after the Japanese had invaded and brought to these hospitals in India  for treatment.
             I am ex RAMC,good luck and good hunting

[TessieWessie]

I shall have a look.

Thanks for that Harvo.  I have just had a bit of luck re Ernest James Jones.  A relative also looking for him has just traced me.  How  great for my family is that.  Perhaps we will learn more of him now.

T/Wessie

[BorderReiver]

I recently found out that 127 I.B.G.H. (India Base General Hospital) was at Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Andrah Pradesh, India.   

[RRTB]

Just returning briefly to the Cocinada/Kokinaida/whatever way it's spelt! question: this was a port in India mentioned by my father in his notes which he left me about his war service. It was from here that his regiment and many others set out on Operation Zipper but the Japanese thankfully capitulated while the ships were en route.

RRTB

[TessieWessie]

Hi Border

Thank you for that info re my ex-Father-in-Laws  service time in Cocanada.  When the ships sailed from there where were they bound for,  was it just one destination in Burma or were there several hospital encampments that the army nurses etc were heading for.  Apart from wanting to know more about Ernest James Jones's war record, we would also like to discover whether he met and formed a relationship with a nurse who may have also served in Burma. He was eventually divorced by my mother-in-Law soon after his return and he married the nurse, never disclosing to her that he even had a son from his first wife.  Ernest and 2nd wife moved to Norwich where they worked together in a hospital.  He died never seeing his son again and she also died in her 90's never knowing he had a son and two grandchildren.  They were childless.  A very sad story but also a very intriguing one.

[Lancer9th12th]

Hiya - thank you for getting back to me. 

It says on the sheet for 1945 though:

25/05/45 Posted to 53 RHU (X4A) Auth (indecipherable) 70055/224/476 left 18 May 45 SOS North West Europe     -   53 RHU is 53rd Reinforcement Holding Unit.  A unit dedicated to holding Surplus personnel, some awaiting a return to duty after illness or injury or soldiers out of training awaiting posting.

In late 1945 there were a total of 28 Reinforcement Holding Units.  53 RHU – disbanded Nov 46.  Possibly based in Germany.  Part of 105 Reinforcement Group – HQ Ripon Barracks formally Bulow Kaserne Bielefeld

05/06/45 TOS 31 RHU From 53 RHU WEF 5th June \Sadly I have nothing on this Reinforcement Holding Unit.


07/07/45 TOS from 31 RHU WEF 7.07.45 awd 1939-45 Star and France and Germany Star.


Hope this helps Cavey.

Lancer.