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Key dates over April 1915

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Lives lost on this day: 1

18th April 1915 - Surprise meetings in Field Hospital

Rolling casualty count: 978

1st Batt: In billets near Fleurbaix; 2nd Batt: In billets at Gorre;3rd Batt: In trenches E. Dickebush;

Worcester’s Surprise in Hospital: Many remarkable cases of long lost friends meeting quite accidentally on the battlefield or in hospitals have been mentioned in soldiers’ letters, but perhaps the most startling is that described by Cpl. M. A. Allenson, R.A.M.C. Writing to friends in Redhill, he says:- “ When they were bringing in the wounded of the Worcesters after the Neuve CHapelle battle I was a witness to a strange meeting. One of the Worcesters with a fractured leg and a bullet wound in the neck was singing as cheerfully as if he were at a sing-song. Suddenly there was a shout from a corporal of the Sherwood Foresters, ‘Why, that’s our Sam, I’ll bet on it.’ Sure enough it was Sam. He rose from the stretcher, and calmly replied, ‘Well, who’d a thought of seeing you here?’ They were brothers , and had not seen each other for six years. The corporal had been badly knocked about, and was weak, but there was joy and happiness written over his face when he grasped the hand of his brother. “But perhaps one of the strangest meetings was that of a young fellow (who evidently came of good stock) and a Red Cross nurse. He carried a photo of a pretty girl. This he was permitted to retain when lying in the hospital. The poor chap had lost his right hand, and he got me to write him several letters, and I got to know the history of the lady whose photograph was so dear to him. One day several new nurses arrived, and I shall never forget the expression on his face when one of them commenced her duties. It was his sweetheart of four years ago. At first she did not recognise him, but when she was passing his bedside he whispered, ‘Nelly, Nelly.’ There was recognition, and need I say that whatever was the misunderstanding in the past which drove him to seek forgetfulness in the Army, it was righted. My friend has been sent to a hospital at home, and when he is recovered there will be a pretty wedding, and, if I am spared and can attend, I shall play the role of best man;”

Worcester Theatre: Twice each evening next week at the Theatre Royal, Messrs. Matthew H. Glenville and Fred Osmond’s Company will present a Wild-West drama, “An Indian Girl’s Devotion.” It is a piece which contains many exciting situations. The greatest is that in which two horses gallop on revolving stages at a speed of 20 miles an hour. Three trained horses and a donkey are used in the production, and the company includes Indians and cowboys. The story is very interesting, and the whole performance is picturesque.

Information researched by Sue Redding