8th April 1916 Saturday

All material produced or reproduced here and throughout this work is the sole copyright of the author and the family of Doctor D.C.M. Page MC.

The week before Easter this year my wife Liz, Douglas’s granddaughter and I paid a visit to the battlefield areas that Douglas had been in up until April 1916. Some interesting things emerged including us staying at Field Marshall Haig’s Bomb School. We visited the old farm at Mesplaux that saw so much activity during the war. We also visited Reiz Ballieul and were welcomed by the current occupiers. More on that will follow on a post later this month.

Douglas continues;

“I was up at the A.D.S. until 8th April and had a very pleasant stay. We always  had a lot of visitors dropping in for a meal so we were never dull and got all the news of the day. Our work was light with only a very few wounded and sick passing through our hands.

One day I went back to Headquarters at Mesplaux to attend a clinical meeting.

Mesplaux cart Mesplaux new Mesplaux old Mesplaux car

Mesplaux Liz

Douglas’s granddaughter Liz Coggin at Mesplaux Farm 20th March 2016.

It was very well attended by the Divisional Medical Officers. Capt. Day read a paper on the treatment of wounds by a Regimental M.O. It was quite sound, but I didn’t learn anything from it. Lt. Anderson also read a paper on wound treatment in Field Ambulances, which was very interesting. A discussion followed which was very tame.

I was transferred to the 13th Welsh on the 8th in place of Lt. Watkins, R.A.M.C. who had bronchitis. The Battalion was in the ‘Old British Line’ and I had an Aid-Post in a well sand-bagged dug-out.”

The next post follows tomorrow, 9th April.

Are you a new reader?

Find out about our connection with Dr Page and an introduction to his diary here