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Battalion went back to Egypt for rest and recuperation for
five months and during this time Frank had three days in the
hospital at Sidi Bashr with an undisclosed ailment.
On 26th July 1916 the Battalion shipped out of Alexandria
arriving in Marseilles seven days later, en route for the Western
Front. No doubt they travelled the length of France by rail and
arrived on the Belgian border to join in the first battle of the
Somme.
Within a few weeks of arriving at the front Frank was admitted
to a field hospital with scabies, an itchy skin disorder caused by
parasites burrowing under the skin. This was very contagious
and the doctors would want him to be isolated from the other
troops until it was under control. He rejoined the front on 28th
September 1916.
The physical conditions on the front were traumatic, to say the
least, and many of the soldiers considered the conditions to be
a greater problem than the Germans. With winter setting in, it
was freezing cold, wet and very muddy. Men could go weeks
without getting warm and were frequently without food, when
the shelling made it too hazardous to get supplies to the front
trenches.
It is little wonder then that Frank again reported sick on 2nd
Feb 1917. He was diagnosed with bronchitis and moved back
to a major hospital at Abbeville. From there he was sent back
to England for treatment. After four months in England he was
deemed fit enough to return to the fight and was back in the
trenches by June 2017.
Two months of trench life and he was back, this time in a field
hospital and then transferred to a rest camp. He was returned
to his unit on 9th September but his condition had improved
very little. By mid October he was back at the field hospital with
bronchitis. He spent time in various base hospitals before, once
again, returning to his unit on 21st November 1917. He stuck
the conditions of wet and cold until the first days of 1918 when
he was admitted to hospital yet again and, this time he was
diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB). He had lost 11lb in weight
228
five months and during this time Frank had three days in the
hospital at Sidi Bashr with an undisclosed ailment.
On 26th July 1916 the Battalion shipped out of Alexandria
arriving in Marseilles seven days later, en route for the Western
Front. No doubt they travelled the length of France by rail and
arrived on the Belgian border to join in the first battle of the
Somme.
Within a few weeks of arriving at the front Frank was admitted
to a field hospital with scabies, an itchy skin disorder caused by
parasites burrowing under the skin. This was very contagious
and the doctors would want him to be isolated from the other
troops until it was under control. He rejoined the front on 28th
September 1916.
The physical conditions on the front were traumatic, to say the
least, and many of the soldiers considered the conditions to be
a greater problem than the Germans. With winter setting in, it
was freezing cold, wet and very muddy. Men could go weeks
without getting warm and were frequently without food, when
the shelling made it too hazardous to get supplies to the front
trenches.
It is little wonder then that Frank again reported sick on 2nd
Feb 1917. He was diagnosed with bronchitis and moved back
to a major hospital at Abbeville. From there he was sent back
to England for treatment. After four months in England he was
deemed fit enough to return to the fight and was back in the
trenches by June 2017.
Two months of trench life and he was back, this time in a field
hospital and then transferred to a rest camp. He was returned
to his unit on 9th September but his condition had improved
very little. By mid October he was back at the field hospital with
bronchitis. He spent time in various base hospitals before, once
again, returning to his unit on 21st November 1917. He stuck
the conditions of wet and cold until the first days of 1918 when
he was admitted to hospital yet again and, this time he was
diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB). He had lost 11lb in weight
228
