James ALLUM

Pte. W.J. ASTBURY http://buckleyatwarww1.webs.com/newspaperreports.htm

My thanks to Gary Atkinson for sharing his Grandfather's story 

PTE 20451 Samuel ATKINSON Lancashire Fusiliers Born 25th August 1895 Heywood Lancashire Enlisted for WW1 on 16 August 1916 , 1 day after is 21st birthday .

Served 2 years 5 months Battles Arras / Ehpy / Messines Ridge . He was wounded twice Wounded 14 Sept 1917 , In Hospital with gunshot wounds to his right side , also wounded 19 April 1918 gunshot wounds through left arm.
Was lucky he wasn't court martialled - he disobeyed a direct order 7 Times with charges ! No pension records left. He still came back twice after pretty serious wounds. He even did a bit of a Douglas Bader and falsified his records so he could escape from the hospital while wounded. .I suppose he'd been shot by the Germans twice so had got to the point where he didn't give a monkeys if he was shot by his own side. He was AWOL 6 times.That's quite a lot if you think about it - people has been Shot At Dawn for less. He must. have been a good soldier to keep being taken back with a charge rather than a court martial.Must have been Valued by his CO
On his return back to Address 47 Wild Street Bamford Heywood .
After the war Coal Digger ( delivery rounds man )
Samuel married Mary Ann Banner 17th Oct 1925 in Heywood,,
Died 10th Feb 1954
Cause of Death Lobar Pneumonia
Address on Death 6 back May St Heywood ,Lancs
Buried in Heywood Cemetery .

I never knew my Grandfather Samuel Atkinson , I was born in 1966 , Finding a lot about him by researching my family history and knowing he was at Netley Hospital with his wounds , Hopefully will have a visit to the Netley Hospital in the near future .

Driver William BLENCO Rushden Echo, 22nd December, 1916, transcribed by Gill Hollis www.rushdenheritage.co.uk

Rushden Soldier Injured - Driver William Blenco Kicked by a Horse
Mr. and Mrs. Blenco, of 10, Woburn-place, Rushden, have received news that their second son, Driver William Blenco, of the Royal Horse Artillery, is in the British Red Cross Hospital, Netley, suffering from an injury to the right knee caused by a kick from a horse. He suffered a similar accident some time ago when he was kicked in the back, but his injuries were not then sufficiently serious to warrant his being sent home.
The injured soldier has written to say that he is able to sit in a chair, but not for long, as he knee soon begins to ache when he gets out of bed.
Driver Blenco enlisted on August 16th, 1915, and had been at the front about a year. Prior to joining up he was employed by Messrs. Eaton & Co., boot manufacturers, Rushden. He has just turned 19 years of age.

Edwin Stephen BRIAR was in the Northumberland Fusiliers. On 9th April 1917 he was wounded in the chest and lay in no man's land for over 24 hours until he was found and treated in hospital at Rouen before being sent to Netley. He died in 1964 aged 72 years.

From Voysey family tree on Ancestry, thanks Jill.

Fred BUTCHER is on the back row with his arm in a sling. Maureen Bartlett says via Ancestry:

Fred was my grandfather, he was injured in a battle in France in August 1918 where he had most of his left upper arm shot away, but recovered well.

After he left Netley he was repatriated back to Canada. In 1922 he returned back to the Isle of Wight.

Charles Woodward CARR

Albert CLARKSON was badly wounded in 1918 and thought to be dead so a letter of condolence was sent to his wife Florence. Shortly after, she received another letter saying that he was alive and he was sent to Netley where he recovered.

They emmigrated to Australia in the 1920's where he died around 1958.

  19258 Driver Leonard Leslie Coleman A.I.F came to Netley on 4th February 1919.   

Pte. COLLYER HAMLIN

William George CURTIS was in the Royal East Kent Regiment and enlisted in 1916. He received a gunshot wound to the left thigh on 10th August 1918, fracturing his leg. He was taken to Netley hospital where his brother Philip Henry had been some years earlier (See Passing Through - Convalescents Earlier Wars) and was declared no longer fit for war service. He was awarded a pension and an allowance for his 5 children.

From the Curtis family tree on Ancestry.

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William Amos CUTTING was a patient at Netley. His grandson Alan, sent me some information about him for which I am very grateful.

Hi Julie, the little I know is that he was in the West Yorkshire Regiment which I believe had the horse on their cap badge and he was in the Somme...He was shot in the trenches by one of his own fellow soldiers who was a new recruit apparently cleaning his rifle at the time..He was shipped back to Netley where he apparently spent 4 years getting better after having his leg amputated...His nurse married him and I think her maiden name was Dennis a family who hailed from Southampton she had a brother called Walter and another who I do not have a name for lost on the Titanic but not on passenger list that I can see....Poor woman had eight children and died at age of 34 years giving birth to youngest child...My Grandfather died in 1968 in a Norwich hospital after a long illness I was 17 years old then but obviously wish I could talk to him now I am older and wiser!!..They lived together in Brewery Road, Trunch, North Norfolk.

After some research, I found that  William married his nurse Beatrice Dennes who came from Swaythling. Also, she had an uncle Frederick Benham who is maybe the man who went down on the Titanic.

Alan kindly sent me a photo of Beatrice, believed to have been taken at Netley.

Lce.Cpl. T.R. DARKE was at Netley for over a year. Reading Mercury 14th August 1915.

Pte. James DOWLING The Netley British Red Cross Hospital Magazine June 1918

Minnie DREWITT was at Netley in WW1 and claimed that she had served in the war as a soldier

Frederick FURSE was sent to Netley with dysentary and rheumatic fever. 

Ernest GAFFEY was born in New South Wales in 1898. His parents were Patrick and Jane Gaffey. Ernest enlisted with the AIF when he was underage and his parents requested that he was discharged. Six months later, he enlisted again stating that his parents were deceased.

Ernest was taken to Netley after being wounded at the Battle of Emptsa. He later married and his wife and 2 daughters sadly died of influenza leaving him with a son who he reluctantly had to put in an orphanage.

Ernest died at the age of 42 in 1940 in New South Wales.

From the Australian Light Horse Studies Centre.

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Warwick and Warwickshire Advertiser 25/07/1941

25 YEARS AGO. Wounded. Sergeant P. W. HANCOCKS. l/7th Royal Warwickshire Regiment, son of Mr. J. Hancocks. Warwick, is now in a Netley Hospital recovering from a shrapnel wound in the right foot, received in action on July 1. Last October Sergeant Hancocks was reported for distinguished conduct in the field, and was also mentioned in Sir John French’s last despatch from Prance. Second-Lieut. W. Godfrey-Payton. Second-Lieutenant Walter Godfrey-Payton. who was wounded in the recent fighting, and whose condition at the commencement of the week caused some anxiety, is now making good progress.— July 22. 1916.

Gerald Courtney Cecil HARDINGHAM spent some time in Netley suffering from shell shock. Thank you to his grandaughter Sarah Hetherington.

Hodge Edward Lanyon

Sophie replied to me on my Facebook page in May 2023 when I asked if anyone had any members of the family that were treated at Netley. 

Her great great uncle Ted was there in WWI.

Here is a link to her story: 

https://sophie6659.wixsite.com/lost-found-stories/ted-geoff-hodge

Thank you Sophie.

Frederick Edwin HULBERT: http://www.boxpeopleandplaces.co.uk/ted-hulbert.html