W A Franklin, Cyril Andrews, and J F R Read

PRosserLV19010025.jpg

Title

W A Franklin, Cyril Andrews, and J F R Read

Description

Top left - newspaper cutting with b/w full face photograph concerning Corporal W A Franklin whose wife had received first communication from him since fall of Java.
Bottom left - newspaper cutting with head and shoulders b/w photograph announcing that sergt-pilot Cyril Andrews of Oxford had been killed.
Top middle - newspaper cutting with b/w full face photograph announcing that Pilot Officer Kenneth Higgins had just received his wings and commission in Canada.
Bottom middle - newspaper cutting - Oxford sgt-pilot killed - announces that sergt-pilot C G Andrews had been killed.
Right - newspaper cutting - Salerno adventure. Story concerning Pte J F R Read R.A.M.C. who acted as stretcher bearer during operation at Salerno, Italy and was now in a convalescent depot in the middle east after being wounded. Gives some background details of upbringing in Oxford. Includes three-quarter length image of soldier wearing khaki uniform with shorts.

Language

Type

Format

Five newspaper cuttings mounted on an album page

Rights

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Contributor

Identifier

PRosserLV19010025

Transcription

[photograph]
Corpl, W.A. Franklin, R.A.F., of 39 Poplar-grove, Kennington, Oxford, whose wife has received her first communication from him since the fall of Java.
Corpl. Franklin, who formerly worked at the Alden Press, has sent a postcard from Fukuoko, Japan, where he is a prisoner, saying that he is in good health and is working for pay.

[photograph]
PILOT-OFFICER KENNETH HIGGINS, who has just received his wings and commission in Canada. He is the 24-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. H.A. Higgins, of 100, Cricket-road, Oxford.

[photograph]
Sergt.-Pilot Cyril G. Andrews, of Oxford, who has been killed.
(See story on Page Three.)

OXFORD SGT.-PILOT KILLED
NEWS has been received that Sergt.-Pilot C.G. Andrews, son of Mrs. Andrews and the late Mr. George Andrews, of 23, Abbey-road, Oxford, has been killed.
Sergt. Andrews, who was 26 years of age; was educated at the Central School, upon leaving which he joined the staff of Christ Church, where he became assistant Clerk of Works.
He was well-known among the congregation of St. Barnabas' Church, where he served for several years as [missing word] and server. He joined the R.A.F. when the Volunteer Reserve was established in 1938.
He had taken part in a number of operational flights.

[page break]

BITS AND PIECES

SALERNO ADVENTURE
By "JEFF"

FROM a military correspondent I have received the following account of a convalescent depot in the Middle East, in which one of the patients is Pte. J.F.R. Read, R.A.M.C., 25, Sunningwell-road, Oxford, who was wounded in the fighting near Salerno.

Telling of his adventures, Read says: "I was a stretcher-bearer, advancing with infantry just beyond Salerno. Jerry attacked, and we were being surrounded; our boys were being cut up badly by mortar fire.

"I went out, with three other stretcher-bearers, to bring in the wounded. We reached them, but I was hit in the arm before we could load the men on to the stretchers. By using my left arm I was able to carry on, and during the lull we managed to get back to the R.A.P."

Pte. "Jimmie" Read, who is the son of Mr and Mrs R. Read, joined the R.A.M.C. nearly four years ago and has been serving in North Africa since last January.

Previously he was employed by the Oxford Co-operative Society, and mentions in his letters that he is often approached by Oxford boys and asked: "Haven't I seen you working at the 'Co-op' in Oxford?"

For seven and a half years he was a choir boy at St. Aldate's Church and has always been a keen musician. He won a diploma for pianoforte playing shortly before joining up.

This convalescent depot where Read is now recovering is one of the places where wounded men go after they are discharged from the general hospitals, if they need further treatment and a toning-up, or revitalising of body and limb.

The job of these depots is to "de-hospitalise" – to recondition men so that they may return to their units physically fit, if not actually "fighting fit."

The depot in which Read is staying is described by one of the convalescents – a young merchant seaman – as follows: "The camp is pitched in a pine forest. It is an ideal spot, with first-class bathing in the Mediterranean. We got plenty of exercise for stiff, aching muscles, and a fair amount of free time.

"There is a good welfare-centre with rest rooms, library, canteen and writing-room. The library has about 6,000 books and is greatly appreciated. There is even a small chapel for private prayer.

"This place has pretty well everything – M.I. room, dental centre, cobbler, tailor, chiropodist – and a rattling good resident concert party.

"I feel better, already – and I haven't been here more than a week. I'm fond of boxing, and football. There's plenty of that, here – and good games, too. I've played with Clements, ex-Wolves and Leeds; Gorvin, of Cardiff City, and Falk, English amateur international.

"Incidentally, I've had a bottle of beer every night since I've been here – which is pretty good going, to my way of thinking.

"The chaps sometimes grumble at having to parade and do exercises – they call 'em 'remedials' – but lounging about doesn't get you fit.

"The grub's good, and plenty of it. I'm doing all right, though I wish the sand-fleas weren't such a pest.

[photograph]
PTE. J.F.R. READ at No. 8 Convalescent Camp, Algiers.

I'd be all right in my hammock against them."
And that's a pretty good picture of this convalescent depot. Anything from 1,000 to 3,000 men are housed in this camp. which is bisected by a main road, and six spur roads in radial formation. Between these radials the tents are pitched.

On arrival, every man must be able to walk – or hobble around. He is personally interviewed and carefully examined by the C.O. and this routine is repeated when he leaves the depot to return to his unit. With the C.O. rests the final decision as to whether he should be discharged or retained for further "reconditioning."

Citation

“W A Franklin, Cyril Andrews, and J F R Read,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed March 28, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/36565.

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